Prisoners of War
by Dixxy Mouri
Summary: -SHONEN-AI- The Mystics of Medina have invaded El Nido and are taking prisoners. But what do they plan to do with these prisoners? First published shonen-ai, second attempt.
1. Chapter One

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter One

All that he could hear was the stomping of boots again concrete and the dripping of water. Briefly, he wondered why prison cells tended to do that, but it didn't matter. All he knew was that he was far from home, far from anyone he knew, and scared out of his mind. Even after everything he'd been though, Serge didn't like the idea of being held in this strange country.

It had come to a surprise as everyone in El Nido, and, he guessed, maybe some of the other countries as well. Everyone had assumed that the only country intent on war was Porre, but apparently they had been wrong. No, Porre was not the only country seeking to gain something from the chain of islands he'd called home.

Medina had invaded.

Serge wasn't sure how much they had captured (or tried to capture) as of yet, but he knew they'd certainly succeeded in capturing him during the first surprise attack. The attack had been on Arni, which Serge couldn't explain. Why attack a little fishing village when big, bustling Termina is just a little to the North? But within a few minutes he'd figured it out- the largest city in El Nido was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Viper Manor. More Dragoons than you could shake a stick at could be flooding the streets of Termina in a matter of a half an hour. 

Arni, on the other hand, was accessible either by water or through Fossil Valley. The Mystics had cut off any place where a ship could dock with their own ships, preventing the Dragoons from reaching Arni by water. And the valley was out of the question- between the narrow and at times dangerous terrain, it would be impossible to get help to the village in enough time.

But not that it really mattered, Serge had guessed. A vast majority of the villagers were out on the fishing boats. The Viper Festival would have only been a few weeks away and the food establishments of Termina would be looking to Arni for seafood soon. The rest of the village- Serge included- had stayed behind for other reasons ranging from being too old or too young to just being sick.

Serge's reason for not going out was a sprained wrist. It had actually happened for a very stupid reason- he'd fallen down the stairs leading to his front door and landed on the said joint roughly. Serge didn't even have the luxury of saying the steps were wet or someone had left some object there- perfectly dry and clear of any obstacles. It had just been simple clumsiness that led to his fall and subsequent injury.

The attack had come out of the blue. One minute the sea was quiet and the village serene. The next minute Mystics were swarming the city, terrorizing the citizens of Arni as they vandalized, stole, and destroyed. Houses were burned to the ground, the smoke from the flames reaching so high in the sky that it was certain someone in another town would have seen in. Screams of terror could be heard about the town as oddly shaped people of all colors ran amuck. The town that was known for its brilliant yellows, greens, and blues was now aflame with orange and fiery reds that danced in the sunlight. Those who could fight had their weapons drawn and were fending them off.

Even with his injured wrist, Serge had grabbed a swallow and joined in the fight. After journeying across El Nido and then some, the Assassin of Time had become a well

Weathered warrior. But even will al of his experience, he found himself blocking more attacks than he was dealing out to the point where he administered a strike only once in a great while, and eventually something hard and heavy had connected with the back of his head.

He'd awoken sometime later with a headache, bound hand and foot, gagged, and with a bag over his head. From the sounds of water outside and the slight swaying motion he felt he guessed that he was on a boat. Once his senses were fully regained he tried to free himself, only to find himself having no luck- the binds weren't even loosening. He'd whimpered in defeat and wept quietly for the remainder of the voyage.

_Arni. . . El Nido. . . I failed. . ._

Once they'd arrived in Medina, he'd been placed in this cell. His bindings and blindfold had been removed, he'd been tossed a piece of bread, and left to his own devices. Like he'd find a way out of there- Serge was no lock pick and he wouldn't have been surprised if there were guards in the facility as well. 

Through the door, he could hear the distinct sound of a human yelling and screaming at the Mystics, though admittedly the sound was too muffled for him to have recognized it anymore than being male. Serge gulped- whoever it was, the Mystics might kill him if he continued to scream at them like that. After all, this was (probably) their land, and, if he was another prisoner, then he wasn't exactly in control of the situation.

As the Mystics and their prisoner grew closer (He recognized the inhuman crackling voices of two Mystics telling the prisoner to shut up), Serge wondered what they were doing. It could have very easily just been a very flustered and pissed off El Nido prisoner, or maybe even someone from another country. This idea was of mild interest to Serge- if they had prisoners from other countries then at least there would be something to talk about should someone be thrown in with him.

As luck would happened, the door was thrown open and someone was thrown ON him.

Serge and the other prisoner flailed around for a second as the Mystic guards slammed the door shut. Kicking, punching, cries of brief pain and a few tumbles resulted before Serge found himself pinned to the ground, his eyes clenched shut as the other prisoner kept him where he was. His wrist felt like it was throbbing and swelling, which didn't please the swallow welder one bit. _I suppose this is the embodiment of adding insult to injury_.

Quiet. The only sound in the cell was that of breathing for what felt like an eternity. Serge fully expected that this other prisoner was going to do something to him, though what it was he didn't want to think about. He'd heard stories from General Viper and Radius alike about prisoner of war camps, where some of the soldiers here there would take dominance over weaker prisoners and make them do things they normally wouldn't have done. Sometimes it was as simple as carrying out the other man's chores in the camp, especially jobs like cleaning latrines. Other times. . . Serge cringed at the thought.

"Serge?"  
_That voice is familiar. _Serge opened his eyes and saw a familiar face as well. Large, surprised blue eyes were staring into his own with sandy blonde hair hanging just above his forehead. Serge gaped in shock and bewilderment to see a cherished friend staring him in the face. "Glenn!? What are you doing here!?"

"Same as you, I would guess- I was captured by the Mystics." 

Serge produced a weak, tired smile. At least he wasn't alone in this strange place anymore. Glenn rolled off Serge and sat up, pulling his younger friend with him. The two embraced tightly, crying and relishing in the company of a familiar face amongst the endless ocean of the strange, ancient people. 

Serge wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but he knew it felt comforting. And peaceful. _Even though I'm hundreds of miles from home I feel happy and content now. _They stayed like that for a while, silently consoling each other over what had transpired in their home and what had happened to them after that. Considering what had happened, the chances of them ever seeing their home again was very slim.

Only time would tell.

~

"Where were you when they attacked?"

Serge looked up. He and Glenn were sitting against the back wall of the holding cell in what had just recently been complete silence. The villager had been fidgeting a piece of straw he'd picked up off the floor when the question had arisen. "I was at home in Arni," he said. He sniffled, clenching his eyes shut as the memories returned. "It was awful- they all came out of no where and started to attack."

Glenn turned to face Serge and leaned in closer, offering a shoulder. Serge gladly accepted the invitation. Curiosity and boredom were beginning to get the better of Glenn- he feared he would go insane if things stayed as quiet as they had been. "How did you get captured?"

"Joined the fight and got knocked hard in the head."

"Did you get that sprain during the battle?" Glenn asked, gently picking up the bandaged arm. Serge blushed, shook his head, and explained the rather embarrassing circumstances under which he had sprained his wrist. Glenn shook his head. "I suppose that is not the important thing. We should be grateful we have lived this long."

"What if they decide to torture us or something?" Serge asked miserably.

"Try not to think about that," he offered, though he admitted Serge's gloomy thoughts weren't making him feel much better about their situation. He sighed and brushed a gloved hand against Serge's face. "When I was still in basic training with the Dragoons, one thing we were taught was to keep our heads if we were ever captured by the enemy- since the Mystics have attacked us, I would certainly called Medina the enemy."

"Then why were you pitching a fit when they brought you here?" Serge asked.

Glenn coughed. "Well, yes, I suppose you are right. That was foolish, but there is nothing I can do about that now. What is done is done, but you must realize that most of the prisoners here have probably lost their tempers as well, especially towards the beginning. I believe they meant to keep your head in later situations, such as torture or interrogation."

Serge shuddered at the idea.

"I do not think you should worry about those 'pleasantries'. Between the two of us I am far more likely to undergo that particular fate because I am in the military. Given I am lower in the rankings, but that does not necessarily mean I do not know something," he said. 

The Chrono Trigger's eyes widened. "You're not going to-"

"I have no way of saying that. I doubt I was the only one captured, and it is not too hard to imagine that someone of a higher rank was also caught. Besides, I am young. Marcy aside, it is usually the older, higher-ranking officers who know major military secrets," Glenn said. "No, I am not terribly worried about that."

"But what about the Einlanzer?" asked Serge.

Glenn laughed. "As luck would have it, they should both be back at Viper Manor getting polished. My brother and I simply used normal swords." He grinned. "Though I will admit that after using both of the Dragon Swords I have gotten very good at using two blades." He sighed, resting his head on his knees. "The Mystics attacked Termina as well. The Dragoons were able to arrive in just under an hour. By then they had taken half of the city, meaning we not only had to defend the rest of the city but also win back the captured areas. Karsh and Marcy were placed in charge of evacuating the city while Dario and Zoah led the offensive charge. I was somewhere in the middle of the offensive unit. Myself and a few other privates were looking for civilians when we were jumped and dragged kicking and screaming to their ships."

"And then they brought you here."

"Precisely."

Serge lowered his head. "Arni was lucky, I think. Most of the village was out on the sea at the time. I don't know if any of our boats were caught, but I certainly hope not- Leena was on one of those boats." He sighed. "She's one of my best friends. If she ever got hurt I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"Are you in love with her?"

Serge's eyes widened in panic. "What!? No!" he said.

Glenn looked up in surprise. "Really? Then I suppose you must like Kid."

"Er. . . no," said Serge, still visibly nervous. "Kid's too. . . active."

The knight nodded. "Well, you are a seventeen year old boy- do you have a sweetheart?"  
"No. . . I. . ."

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "What about Lisa, the girl in the Element Shop?"  
"I barely know her," he said, this time finding Glenn's questions ridiculous. 

"Orlha?"

"Isn't she a little old for me?"

". . . Riddel?"

"Glenn, you're selling off your own sister-IN-LAW?!"

"Well, what about Luccia?"

Serge shuddered at the notion.

"Miki?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Razzly?"

"Razzly!?"

"Harle?"

Serge coughed. "Too possessive- I'm a person, not a plaything." 

Glenn folded his arms. "Do you like any girls?" he asked.

By this point Serge was fuming. Sure, Glenn was just trying to make conversation but now he felt a little. . . invaded. _How do I shut him up!?_ Serge's mouth moved before his brain did. "Truth be told, Glenn, I don't like any girls. In fact, I don't like girls PERIOD."

Silence.

Serge's eyes widened. _Oh, crap. What did I just say!?_

"Serge. . . I had no idea. . ." Glenn said slowly.

"Please don't hate me," he said. Serge began to slowly back away from Glenn, who was eyeing him with shock. "I. . . I can't help the way I feel about it! I'm sorry, you must think I'm some sort of scum or dirt of something like that!" He felt himself begin to shake with fear. "Please. . . just don't hate me. . ."

"Why would I?"

Out of all the responses Glenn could've given him, that was probably the least expected response. Well, aside from something irrelevant and completely off topic. This answer took Serge completely off guard and he stared at Glenn in wonder and amazement. "You don't hate me?"

Glenn crawled over towards Serge, the movements reminding him a little bit of a cat. The knight stopped in front of him and shook his head, gently cupping the side of his face. "No, Serge, I don't hate you." He face was visibly relaxed, his eyes looking happy and sleepy all at the same time. A small smile was on his lips and Serge began to wonder if Glenn didn't like girls either. 

Slowly, softly, and gently, Glenn leaned in and captured his mouth in a kiss.

Serge's heart leapt into his throat while his stomach began to do somersaults. Glenn was KISSING him!? Though it was unexpected, uninvited, and unannounced, he didn't mind it. Glenn's lips were soft and silkly- like bellflowers- and tasted like strawberries. He felt bare fingertips against his cheek and realized his friend- or, maybe more than friend- had taken his gloves off. Serge relished in the touch- for someone who practiced with swords so much, his skin was nice and smooth. 

Playfully, Glenn pushed Serge onto his back, putting them into a similar position to the one they had been in when the two first recognized each other. "Well, it would appear as if I do not like girls either, eh Serge?" he said. He gently took Serge's injured hand and lovingly held it.

"Know what, Glenn?"  
"Yes, Serge?"

"Even if we do somehow get rescued, I'll never be free again."

Glenn laughed, tugging Serge's bandanna off his head. "Me neither."

The two love birds, however, were about to be rudely interrupted.

~

First published m/m pairing, second attempt (the other attempt is kind of. . . stuck). The next chapter goes a little more in depth with different battles. Hopefully I'm doing good enough with the descriptions- battles are my weakness so hopefully this piece will help me improve them.

****

You do realize I will never give up on _Thick as Thieves_ reviews. 

~Dixxy


	2. Chapter Two

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Two

Serge sighed. Not long after Glenn had kissed him, they had been interrupted by a pair of Mystic guards who had dragged them out of their cell, and much to their displeasure, in opposite directions. Serge could still remember the somber, disappointing look on Glenn's face. Unless they were simply being taken to different places to suffer the same fate, he knew he was probably in for it worse than Serge was and was not looking forward to it. Still, he had mouthed words of good luck to his. . . well. . . Serge wasn't exactly sure what to call Glenn now, but he none the less returned the gesture before they were out of sight from each other. 

Serge had been tossed into a large room with several other prisoners, none of whom he recognized as Dragoons. Because of this, Serge reasoned that any military personnel who had been captured were going to be brought somewhere else to be questioned about the General's plans and secrets. Passwords, battle strategies, and even weaknesses in Viper Manor itself could be revealed (though Serge allowed himself a snicker when he realized they would've been better off with him if they wanted to know how to get into Viper Manor). 

He did, however, notice that at least some of the other prisoners were from El Nido. Some of them he didn't really know, but had seen walking around Termina on the occasions he went to the port town. Others he had briefly spoken to during his adventure just a few months earlier. He didn't see anyone else from Arni, and he hoped that meant that they were all able to escape. The alternative was grim, and Serge shuddered at the thought. So many people he cared about were from Arni- his mother, Leena, Radius, and even Poshul could've been in danger. Serge closed his eyes briefly and said a quick prayer for their safety.

There were, however, a few that people he actually knew.

For one, he saw Korcha and Mel. The younger of the siblings was curled up in a corner with her brother sitting nearby, keeping a close watch on her. Neither looked seriously hurt, but Mel looked like she had been crying and Korcha was sporting a black eye. This didn't surprise Serge too much- Korcha did have a tendency to mouth off to authority figures, especially if he thought they were wrong about something. And he reasoned that the Mystics wouldn't like someone like Korcha.

Deciding it would be better to not isolate himself, Serge went over to the siblings. After all, misery loves company, and Serge felt pretty miserably right about then. He almost snorted at what had happened. _Village attacked. Captured. Then fall in love with another boy. Fun. Just great._

Korcha regarded him with a slight nod and Mel looked up briefly to give him a shy smile. She stood, hugged Serge, and went back to her corner. Serge slowly slid to the ground next to Korcha to find out how they had been caught. The Guldovian slapped Serge on the shoulder in greeting.

"I don't know if they went after Guldove, but they sure hit Termina pretty bad. ButCHA probably know that already," Korcha explained. "Ma sent me and Mel out to run some errands in Termina. We tried to get out of there before anything bad happened, but I think thatCHA can see how successful we were," he said with a nervous laugh. He placed his hand on Mel's shoulder. "Don'tCHA worry, Mel- Serge's here! He'll think of something!"

"Then why is he still here?" Mel asked.

"Sorry, Korcha, I don't have any ideas as to how we're going to get out of here," Serge admitted. Korcha swore loudly, getting the attention of an old woman who hushed him. The Guldovian fisherman swore back at her and the woman waved her cane in his direction. Korcha flipped her the bird and chose to ignore her after that. 

"DidCHA see anyone else?" Korcha asked. He scanned the people in the bunker, sighed, and shook his head. Mel sniffled and looked at her brother in question. "The room here's so damn crowded. . . CHA couldn't tell if your own ma was here with ya! Good thing Mel and I were able to stick together or else I would've lost her! If she was in another bunker-"

Serge's eyes widened. "There are more bunkers!?"  
"Of course there are more bunkers! Apparently the Mystics have been bothering Choras for a while now, and a lot of the people in here alone are from there," said Korcha. "I don't know about the remnants of Truce or even Porre, butCHA can bet that the Mystics are at least contemplating the idea. I doubt they'll go after Porre- that'd be suicide- but if they went after the Dragoons and El Nido they might be preparing for that."

"I saw Glenn earlier, but we were in a smaller cell," said Serge. His heart sank as he thought about what happened to his newfound lover. "I don't think they brought him to one of the normal bunkers. Since he's a Dragoon, so they might've brought him to be interrogated or something." He hung his head. "I hope he's okay."

"I heard a man talking about it a little earlier. Those small cells are used when they aren't sure what to do withCHA," said Mel. She shrugged. "Kind of like a temporary holding place. Then they decide were to putCHA from there. But that usually only happens if they aren't sure where there's space in the bunkers."

"Glenn? He'll be fine. That guy's not a push-over," said Korcha. He grinned. "Lucky bastard- the chicks in Termina seem to like him. That scar of his is a girl magnet- he could have any girl he chooses but I don't think he's figured that out yet." He pulled at his vest. "But of course I don't need something like that to attract girls, what with my natural good looks and animal attraction."

"Korcha, if you had that then why does Kid keep turning you down?" Mel asked.

Korcha grumbled. "She's just stubborn, that's all. She REALLY loves me, don'tCHA know, she just doesn't know it yet. Yeah! She's just playing hard to get, that's all! Right, Serge? I bet she talks about me all the when I'm not around? Right? I bet I'm all she can think about!"

_Well, you're half right, Korcha- you ARE on her mind a lot, but not because she's head over heels in love with you_, Serge thought to himself. Speaking of Kid, where was she? Even if he didn't have interest in the fairer sex, Kid was still his friend (they'd saved each other's lives so many times he'd practically lost count) and he did worry about her every so often, especially considering that Kid got into trouble on a normal basis. He doubted that she had been captured by the Mystics- that was one kind of trouble she could probably squirm her way out of- but it made him wonder anyways. 

"Serge! What has happened? Where are we?"

Serge looked up to see Guile hovering over towards him, looking a little disheveled and untidy, but not hurt in any way. That took him by surprise- for what he knew of Guile, he wasn't one to go down without a fight. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air, smelled what he recognized as Guile's favorite ale, and sighed. From the looks of it Guile had been drunk during the attack and had been simply taken without a fight. Chances were he has passed out or tricked by the Mystics. But now, aside from the aroma of alcohol, Guile seemed pretty sober. Confused and a little hung-over, but sober none the less.

The Guldovian boatman looked a little disgruntled by Guile's question. As it was he had a short fuse, and dealing with a drunk was probably one of the many things that could set it off. "We're at war with the Mystics, you stupid drunk!" Korcha snapped. "This is a stupid prisoner of war camp or something! They've captured people from at LEAST Termina and Arni and guess what? They'll probably take more under the whole island chain is under Mystic rule!"

Guile seemed to pale. "Is that true?"

"YOU STUPID DRUNK! WHAT PART OF WE'RE AT WAR WITH THE-?!"

"I don't see a reason to yell."

Serge and Mel watched in exasperation and embarrassment as Korcha lunged at Guile (who, from the sounds of it, might've been a little less sober than Serge initially thought). The ten year old yelled at her brother for acting like an idiot during a time of crisis while the only male not involved in the argument found himself mildly interested in the fight. Not that he was attracted to Korcha or Guile, but still. . . he wondered if Glenn would be up for a cat fight if they both made it through the war alive. 

Mel, however, had had enough of the fight and was ready to end it. "HEY! YOU STUPID DORK! LAY OFF!" Mel screeched, getting the attention of every last prisoner in the holding area. Korcha and Guile stopped their brawl, looked around, flushed, and quietly sat down, remaining silent for several minutes. Little by little, people turned back to whatever quiet, worried conversation they had been engaged in before Mel's interruption.

Serge couldn't help but be amazed at how the people had reacted to their imprisonment. Small clusters of friends and family members were huddled together, hugging and talking with each other. Some gave pep talks about how General Viper (or some man named Lord Sogen- who this was Serge didn't know) would come and rescue them. Others were talking about other things that ranged from trends with the wine trade to a concert the Magical Dreamers had recently performed in Guldove. Some weren't talking at all- simply embracing or staying near each other. _They're sticking together and trying to keep themselves in good spirits- that's a good sign._

Serge's group was different, however. Korcha and Guile weren't speaking, though Mel seemed to be calming down a bit. Perhaps seeing her brother acting like himself had made her feel better about the situation, even if she had yelled at him. Serge didn't have any siblings, but from watching Leena and Una, he knew that siblings could reenact the Mystic Wars all by themselves. He reasoned that, if they were fighting, Mel probably saw this a norm and clung to it, as odd as it seemed.

Soon, Korcha and Guile started to talk again, much to Serge's relief- he could feel the negative vibes the two had been sending at each other, and the civil conversation was certainly helping ease the tension. Mel jumped in soon after, and eventually the Chrono Trigger was discussing what would've happened if the Viper Festival had still gone on. And, for what felt like too short a time, they, too, forgot about where they were.

~

Later that night, Serge was staring at the ceiling. Once night had fallen, the group of prisoners had been moved into smaller holding areas with bunk beds and access to bathrooms with showers and baths. Korcha, Guile, and Mel were not in his area, though he did run into Greco and Van. The wrestler had been nursing a horribly dislocated shoulder while Van didn't seem injured- yet. He was missing his glasses and Serge was discovering that without them, the youngest artist was blind as a bat. 

Serge sat up, careful not to smack his head against the ceiling. He carefully placed his hand against his forehead, feeling a slight headache coming. He wasn't sure where it was from, but words like "stress" and "worry" entered his trouble mind. Seeing that it was an extremely logical explanation, Serge accepted that and tried to think about something else.

Like Glenn.

Where was he, anyways? Was he all right, or had the Mystics done something that had hurt him or possibly killed him? While Serge still didn't know what had befallen his- well, he STILL wasn't sure what to call Glenn- "friend", he had a few ideas and none of them sat well with him.

Serge laid back down and tried to go to sleep. _If you don't sleep, Serge, then you won't be in any shape to do anything. Just sleep. . ._ he tried to convince himself. He hugged the pillow he was using tightly, trying to pretend it was Glenn. Serge sighed happily at the thought. Maybe after this was all over and done with then he would get a chance to fall asleep with the REAL Glenn, not some stupid pillow.

~

_"No. . . please. . . I don't know anything. . ."_

"Quit beating around the bush and get to it!"

CRACK!

"AHH! Stop it, I beg of you!"

CRACK!

"No. . . please. . . help me. . ."

"No one's going to help you now, Dragoon- you belong to Medina!"

"SERGE!!!"

~

"GLENN!!!"

Serge sat straight up in his bunk, smacked his head against the ceiling, and swore loudly. From the sounds of other people in the room, he guessed that his scream and swears had awoken everyone else. He blushed profusely, slid out of his bunk, and lowered his head as he walked towards a small corner of the room. Right now he only wanted to be left alone.

Once he felt he was being properly ignored, and, therefore, was at ease, Serge started to think. His dreams, he had learned, weren't always normal. Ever since he was little, he had experienced dreams that told of things that were to come or of vivid memories. . .though not always his memories. At first he hadn't thought much about them- for the most part they were minuscule and didn't mean anything, and the memories he brushed off as strange coincidences.

But after he'd dreamt of Kid's stabbing in Fort Dragonia, he'd begun to think different about them. They weren't normal after all. How could he have possibly seen himself, Kid, and Glenn traveling through Fort Dragonia, only to reach the top in tragedy? And then when he'd first gazed into the Dragon Tear, he saw Chronopolis. 

His eyes widening with a gasp, Serge curled tighter into a ball and clenched his eyes shut. _Am I some sort of a clairvoyant? Can I really see into the future and the past with my dreams? But, but that's ludicrous! People can't see into the past or future with their dreams! Am I going crazy?!_

Oh? And I suppose traveling to distant worlds, ghost ships, switching bodies, the Masamune, the Dead Sea, fighting the Dragon Gods, fighting FATE, AND rescuing Schala are all ludicrous, a small voice in the back of his head countered. Serge grimaced at the idea. It was enough to just be a teenager, never mind a teenager who has to set out on some long, tiresome journey with everyone from a not-so-common thief to General Viper himself. Being a teenager who went on a journey who can see into the future? Serge didn't like that idea.

_But. . . if that's true. . . then. . ._

"Please be all right, Glenn. Please. . ."

~

Yeah, I know, I wrote Korcha and didn't maim him. Weird, huh? Course I made him a disrespectful little snot but oh well. Hey, put some pants on him and I might even like him a little bit. 

Yeah, Guile likes to tip the bottle a little. You DO find him a bar, do you not?

The name "Sogen" was taken from the Yu-Gi-Oh! field effect card that boosts the attack power of warrior and beast-warrior cards. I'm a bigger fan of the actual card game as opposed to the video game (I watch casually- Joey, Yami, and Tristan are my favorites).

Uftaki: Glenn/Serge is your second favorite? Huh. Actually, I also like Norris/Glenn and Karsh/Norris. Karsh/Glenn is good, too. Wonder what this other pairing is? Yeah, Glenn/Serge is sweet. Hmm, haven't decided that yet, but as we can see other characters are coming into this, as are other countries. Haven't decided if the Mystics are going to bug Porre yet, though. As far as the _Memories _universe, I'm not sure. In the normal universe, Glenn is paired with Leena and he admits he isn't gay ("Strange. I don't feel. . . homosexual. . ."). _Thick as Thieves_ does whatever the hell _Thick as Thieves_ wants to do, and who knows what pairings will come out of it? Actually, there will be some cannon stuff (Dario/Riddel is the only one I'll reveal) and a whole slew of unorthodox pairings. There may be a few original character pairings but I still haven't decided on that yet. *coughs* Getting back on track, no, they need to be different people in _TaT_. But nice try. 

Silver Fox: Where in the game does it say he's straight? And who the hell says homosexuality is a bad thing? Gay people- unless they are lesbians hitting on me that I don't want hitting on me- don't bother me. When I was little, one of my mom's best friends was a gay man- and at that, he's one of those flamboyant gays who has the whole feminine accent thing going on. One of the nicest guys I know. Of course I didn't learn this until years later, but as a wee Chibi Dixxy he was one of my favorite baby-sitters. So that's my opinion on gays. Thanks for the compliments. And no, shonen-ai IS boy/boy love. There are four main homosexual fanfic terms I know and my interpretations of them:

Yaoi: hardcore male/male love

Yuri: hardcore girl/girl love.

Shonen-ai: mild boy/boy love

Shoujo-ai (this is probably what you were thinking of): mild girl/girl love

Shonen means boy. Shoujo means girl. My interpretation of "yaoi" and "yuri" is a boy/boy or girl/girl citrus, lime, or lemon. But I'd say they're probably different ends of a spectrum of content, so to speak. 

Alba: Yes, I agree, although a Van pairing would probably fit into an innocent catergory if he was paired with Serge or Glenn, or MAYBE Norris. What the hell is this mystery pairing?! Indulge me! And no, reviewing again doesn't work- I need new reviewers. But nice try. 

Bakuralover: You know, I never really liked Bakura, though I like most of the rest of the male cast of Yu-Gi-Oh! Heck, Yugi's Grampa is pretty funny during the Dungeon Dice Monsters episode and he falls in love with the giant TVs as opposed to the pretty girls on the TVs *cracks up*. Well, I wasn't born a good writer. I think of stuff that I did as recent as three or four years ago and I cringe. Writing, like anything else, takes practice. Is it for everyone? No. But if it's something you enjoy doing then knock yourself out, listen to your critics (as long as they give constructive criticism and don't use badly spelled version of "you suck" or the like) and just have fun with it. Ronin Warriors is an under-rated Anime. It's got a lot of continuity (it flows in a similar way to MKR, though not nearly as many plot twists and a less fantasy-esque plot) and it's one of the better dubs out there. Quite frankly, my friend, Pathfinder, and I think that the English voice actor for the main bad guy did a lot better than the Japanese guy. The English guy sounds evil and intimidating, kinda like a crabby teacher that you didn't do homework for. The Japanese guy sounds not nearly as evil- he kinda sucked. But of course the sub (entitled Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) is very good as well. And don't worry, I will!

Tami: Rushed? *shrugs* It's my first committed attempt at shonen-ai, so no, I don't expect this to be the best thing I'll ever write- I'm really just experimenting with the genre to see what does and doesn't work. And, well, eh, the idea is that they get separated, but, as I learned from _Marooned_, you can only go so far with two people stuck in a small space. And, since there's even less in the cell than there was on Hermit's Hideaway, you can see why they admitted every "so fast". In actuality they were with each other for several hours before Glenn kissed Serge- they just didn't do much during those hours. Also, they were friends beforehand so some emotions already existed. Me? Stressed out? I like having a billion things going on at once on some days (I even have two more CC fics in mind- one that's a sort of companion to _Thick as Thieves_, the other of which sends Kid to a world more like our own). That's not even counting all the Ronin Warriors and Lunar *dodges flaming arrows, bullets, and nukes from her Lunar readers* I have. This also gives me some flexibility- if I run out of ideas for one fic I always have something else to work on to make sure I don't get rusty with my skills. And I may start doing MKR fics (F/F rocks, man- WHEEE!!! I LOVE FUU AND FERIO! I LOVE FUU AND FERIO! THE BEST PAIRING IN THE WORLD!!! YAY!!! And I like the idea of Umi/Ascot as well ^__^). Yes, I do overload myself and I'm damn proud of it. 

~Dixxy


	3. Chapter Three

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Three

"For the last ruddy time, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" 

The fat, purple Mystic conducting his torture session eyed Glenn with mild disgust. "Filthy human- we'll stop if you just tell us everything you know about Viper Manor. It's not that difficult a concept, is it? Or do ENJOY being whipped? Hmm? Is this some sort of a dirty fantasy you think about as you lie awake in bed every night? Do you LIKE the streaks of searing hot pain across your back?" The Mystic waddled over to Glenn and grabbed his chin, looking his face over. "Seems as if you had some sort of an encounter with pain another time. Lovely little mark you have there."

"Got into a fight with a cat when I was kid," Glenn offered, trying to wrench his head away from the offensive torturer. "And no, I do NOT know ANY secrets that would be of value to your and your selfish, low down dirty Mystic army and their effort to take over my home!"

CRACK!

Glenn screamed at the whip once again lashed against his back. To begin with he was in an uncomfortable situation. He was kneeling on the floor with two chains stretching his arms towards the ceiling, a cuff around his neck that kept it upright, and two shackles binding his legs to the floor. He couldn't move much and every muscle in his body was beginning to strain. He tasted the coppery liquid that was his own blood in his mouth, earned from a busted lip that that the Mystic had given him. 

The Mystic backed off for a second, giving Glenn was a few precious seconds to try and catch his breath. He listened as the torturer's feet clicked against the cement floor, an eerie sound that sent shivers up and down his spine. Glenn closed his eyes, shuddered, and tried to shake the feeling off. 

"Now, what is the General planning? Hmm? Is he going to put emphasis on his navy, or on the military itself? Will there be any weak points? Anywhere that my people can slip in easily?" The Mystic shoved his face into Glenn's. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself, you filthy little bastard?"

_Does this Mystics have some sort of a fascination with calling me "filthy"?_ Glenn wondered. He narrowed his eyes. _Whatever you do, don't tell the Mystic anything. Anything could put El Nido in danger. The passwords to get into the throne room, the secret entrances above the Bluffs and through the Shadow Forest are the weakest points in the entire Manor._

"Well?!"

_Considering he needs me alive. . ._ Glenn spat at the Mystic.

The Mystic wasn't fond of the action and clumsily fell backwards onto his back, screeching and screaming about how the filthy human sprayed him with his filthy human spit. His short, stubby legs flailed as he wailed and cried about what Glenn had seen fit to happen. A few more Mystics came in, trying to decide what had happened to their friend. The young Dragoon lowered his head so he could grin. If it weren't for the fact that Glenn was chained and bound, he would've laughed. Stupid Mystics. 

The purple Mystic regained his composure and stood up, brushing his clothing off and waddling back over to Glenn. He looked up at his captor, clearing his face of all emotion. Now wasn't the time for a wise crack. "Listen here, you dirty little piece of human filth! If you even THINK about doing that again I'll ENSURE that your stay here will be even MORE unpleasant."

Glenn cringed at the thought. How much more "unpleasant" could this be?! The only good thing that had happened since he'd been taken prisoner (which, in itself was a small miracle) was Serge. Everything else was horrendous. He'd watched Termina, his childhood home, under attack. He'd been captured and taken to another land. Now he was being tortured. What else could that slimy Mystic do to make his stay worse than it already was?

Still, he didn't want to test the Mystic. Glenn didn't know very much about the Mystics, but he knew some of them could use magic that didn't require the use of Elements or even Tech Skills. It was THEIR magical power they drew from. And he didn't know how powerful these spells were, much less compared to what an Element or Tech Skill could do.

The Mystic watched his prisoner with hawk-like eyes. Glenn stayed quiet, only crying out whenever he was struck. He stopped answering the Mystic's questions, choosing silence over verbal defiance. The Dragoon kept his head lowered, clenching his teeth shut to try and stop himself from crying out. Perhaps the Mystic would get tired of him and leave him alone for a little while. 

But no such relief seemed to come. The whip cracked down on his back again and again, and Glenn began to wonder what condition his backside was in. He was in quite a bit a pain by that time from both the whip and the unflattering, uncomfortable position he was in. His head was spinning and throbbing, which added to a slowly growing instance of severe nausea.

Finally, the Mystics appeared to stop. But since they didn't leave the room, Glenn didn't feel a need to relax himself just yet. Wait until they unchain him and lead him to a different cell. Then he could cope with the pain and stress. But not now. He had to stay strong. For El Nido. _Think of El Nido. Think of the Dragoons and everyone you know and care about in Viper Manor._

Think about Serge.

"We're not getting anything out of him," one of the Mystic guards said.

"We will," said the purple Mystic. The large blob of blubber looked at Glenn, waddled over, and peered him in the face. "My, my, my, you poor little Dragoon boy. You look EXHAUSTED." Glenn scowled at the Mystic, but still said nothing. The Mystic laughed and turned to his colleagues, nodding at them. He had a calm, cold look on his face as he gave the other Mystics their orders. "You know what to do with a prisoner who DESPERATELY wants sleep. . ." 

~

_What day is it? How long have I been here? Has it been months, already, or am I more confused than I thought? Wait, why am I so confused? I just want to go home! Is help on the way? Will the Dragoons be here soon? Can they get me out of here? Why am I here? When will it be over!?_

Thanks to the head Mystic's orders to his guards, Glenn hadn't been allowed to sleep or eat (or move, for that matter- he was still in the same position he'd been in when the purple Mystic left). He was hungry, beyond the point of exhaustion and was beginning to loose perception of his surroundings. He had no idea how long it had been since the purple mystic had left- it felt like days, though he had no way of knowing. With his sleep pattern so violently disturbed, he didn't know up from down anymore. Hell, Glenn wasn't sure if he could tell the difference between a block of ice and a rabbit at that point. All he cared about was sleep.

The ways he was being kept awake were varied in both the complexity and cruelty of the methods. Sometimes it was just as simple as making loud noises to jolt him awake every time he tried to nod of. Other times they poured water over his head, once dunking his head into a bucket. That, however, he used to his advantage whenever it happened. Food he could go a while without- sure he'd loose a lot of weight and need to build his muscle back up after he was able to eat properly again, but water you could only go so long without. Whenever he was dunked, he would take a mouthful of the water and swallow it before they took his head out of the water. The guards also hit him, shook him, screamed at him, and put him through other kinds of abuses he couldn't possibly remember for the life of him. Glenn's mind had filled with a haze that he couldn't see through, with the exception of the desires for sleep and food.

"Well, well, well, aren't we looking bright and happy today?" 

Glenn barely recognized the sound of his tormentor's voice. He shook involuntarily, the sound of the Mystic causing his convulsion. "No. . ." he moaned. Glenn felt weak and helpless, not wanting the offensive Mystic in the room with him. "Go away. . . stop it. . ." 

Now his tormentor took on a kind, generous tone of voice. Briefly, Glenn was reminded of his parents. "Would you like to sleep? Or something to eat? You look very tired and hungry, perhaps even a little thirsty. Would you like that, hmm? I bet a nice, warm bed sounds really good right about now."

Glenn's eyes quickly opened as he fell forwards. "Sleep!"

"Yes! You can sleep and eat to your heart's content. All you need to do is tell us what you know about Viper Manor, El Nido, Termina, and any other key areas in your country. Isn't that easy? Just talk to us about your home and you get to get away from this awful place! Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"Sleep. . ."

"Yes, yes, you can sleep! But you need to talk to us first, boy."

_Talk to them. . ._

NO!

But sleep. . .

NO! They're playing you!

Shut up. Sleep.

Glenn groaned. He was fighting the desire to stay quiet and to give in to temptation. At least he was still conscious enough to know that revealing anything he knew could be disastrous. He didn't want to see any of his loved ones hurt because he wanted to be selfish and sleep.

"Well?"

Glenn shook his head, waking up his conscious a little more. "NEVER!" he shouted. His head fell and he began to shed tears. "Let me go home! I want to go home!" He shook from a chill, beginning to loose energy and willpower. "Please, just let me go! Let me go back home to Termina!"

"No one's going to save you, boy!"

"Shut up!" Glenn insisted.

The Mystic grabbed Glenn by the hair on his head, causing the Dragoon to cry out in anguish. He found himself staring his captor in the face, and saw just how unpleasant the Mystic looked right about then. "You're just a lowly little private- General Viper and the Devas don't care about you! Not the little brat Marcy, not the big lunk-head Zoah, not the smart-ass Karsh, and certainly not the brave, noble Dario."

Glenn blinked. "Brother. . . not Dario. . ."

The Mystic dropped Glenn in surprise. "What did you just say!?"  
Glenn stared blankly ahead of him. "Dario. . . he is my brother."

The chamber was silent. At first, Glenn was unaware of why. Had the Mystics given up on him after the long, endless interrogation? Glenn was nearly ready to cry from joy. Did this mean freedom? Were they going to let him go home after being stuck in the land for so long! A wave of relief washed over Glenn as he dipped his head again. Home. He was going home. They were giving up!

But then that little voice spoke up again.

_But there's no sense in that. I only told them- _

Oh, fuck.

"So, you're the Great Garai's OTHER son," said the Mystic. He lifted Glenn's chin up again. The Dragoon watched as the Mystic looked him over in amused interest, chuckling as he threw him backwards. "I can see the family resemblance. There isn't a lot, but it's there. Never though I'd land myself a catch quite this good. Wouldn't it be a shame if something happened to poor, poor little Dario's baby brother? Hmm?"

_I'm an idiot._

"Bring the boy to a private cell- I want him well rested and taken care of. We're going to show the Deva that his precious baby brother is all right- for now. If the boy doesn't cooperate, then he's going to find a head without its body in his bed one fine morning." He turned to Glenn, grinned menacingly, and began to cackle.

_What have I done!?_

~

The next several hours, or days, were a blur to the Dragoon. Glenn knew he was in a much more comfortable holding cell, as he spent most of his time on a reasonably soft mat of some sort. That, and some time in a bath (which, as his mental condition got better and better, he reasoned was a good idea).

Glenn knew that someone kind and familiar was getting him to eat and drink. Is mind, however, was still too distorted from the torture session to remember who it was. Sometimes Glenn KNEW who it was for a few moments, but then he'd black out and forget who it was altogether, which frustrated him to no end. 

At one point the haze had cleared up enough to the point where Glenn was able to recall waking up (something he wasn't used to). He sat up on the mat, yawning. At least he was feeling better today. Tired, but better. He looked around to get a better view of his surroundings and evaluate his situation.

The room was slightly bigger than the room he'd kissed Serge in as well as a little tidier and lighter. The floor was covered with a thin, rough carpet, but that beat the hard stone of his previous environments. In the corner a figure had wrapped himself up in blankets, sleeping soundly.

_That must be my mystery care-taker_, Glenn reasoned. He stood up, stretched his legs, and clumsily fell back to the ground. _Damn it, my legs are not working correctly. Is this another result of being tortured? Being unable to control my own body?!_ Glenn shuddered at thought, then shook his head. _No. This is probably just because I have not used them in far too long- this could happen for any reason, I suppose. _Satisfied with that answer, he began to crawl towards the form.

As he grew closer, he saw that the lump of blankets was moving. Waking up, perhaps? Curious, Glenn pressed on. If this WAS his care-taker, he wanted to thank them for helping him through his difficult time. Even if he was, perhaps, doomed to die anyways. 

Glenn knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that, aside from Riddel and maybe General Viper, he was the single most important person in Dario's life at that point. The brothers, to each other, were the only family they had. Glenn's aunts and uncles had all passed away before having children or, in some cases, even before marrying. Dario could only recall brief snippets of times with their grandparents, who all passed away before Glenn had even been born. And with both of their parents dead, all they had until one of them had children (something Glenn didn't think he'd have unless Serge could magically get pregnant) was each other.

Still, if it meant the difference between his life and the safety of El Nido. . .

Finally, the lump sat up as Glenn sat kneeling before them. The blankets had been pulled over the person's head, still concealing their identity. Mustering up the remainder of his courage, Glenn opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in the back of his throat. What was he supposed to say, anyways?

The figure shook, the blankets making the movement seem almost fluid. They dropped, pooling around the slender waist concealed inside. When Glenn saw who it was who had helped him, he couldn't believe his eyes. His caretaker turned to him, smiled playfully, and laughed.

"Gee, mate, I didn't think you'd wake up so soon," Kid said wryly.

~

First off, to those celebrating it today, **Happy Easter!!!**

I've never really done a torture session before (which is one reason why this chapter took so long to get out -_-*). I chose to take a more psychological approach to it, as that can get really nasty sometimes. Lack of sleep and food can really, really suck. As Glenn learned.

Initially I was going to make the other person in the room Serge, but I decided that was too boring and predictable, so I decided to screw with your heads a little bit. So now it's Kid. 

More comments! Yay!

Alba: Mmm. . . I suppose so. But I still stick to the fact that Korcha needs to put some pants on. But in his favor at least he isn't a flabby fat man in a Speedo. Ew, images in my head!!! Yeah, Korcha does get temperamental. Okay, so maybe I like his character, but not his no pants thing. And he provides a great "piss-off Kid" plot device, who DOESN'T like to piss off Kid? ^___^ Yeah. I couldn't resist. I was just trying to figure out the best way the two could react to the fight. You wouldn't think he'd think like that, would you? I'm not overly excited about Van stuff either, but I was just trying to think of an innocent shonen-ai pairing, and you have to admit Van fits the bill. Comedy romance? Can't wait. Okay, I will.

Uftaki: Thank you for the chapter direct comments. One of the ones I listed? OH! OH! Is it Karsh/Norris?! Or. . . Norris/Glenn? Karsh/Glenn? Which ones did I list? Oh. That was all of them. All else fails you can do a love triangle situation (Glenn loves Norris but Norris loves Karsh but Karsh loves Glenn. . .). Yeah. Because there is so little character development with the Chrono series (yes, even Trigger in some cases) there's just so much that the reader has to add. Serge's personality is a perfect example. Thank you!

Tami: Oh. I like both a lot, but it really depends on the mood I'm in, MKR stands for Magic Knight Rayearth, which is by CLAMP. In short, three junior high girls (Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi) are taken from Tokyo Tower, where they were on a field trip, to the land of Cephiro. They have to become Magic Knights to save the land and its princess, Emeraude. Ferio is a "swordsman" they meet in the woods one day who is clearly meant to be some sort of a love interest for Fuu. This is probably a fan favorite pairing- Hikaru has two people she could end up with, as does Umi. But Ferio/Fuu is a pairing even I wouldn't mess with, and once you see _Thick as Thieves_ you'll see how much I love to mess with pairings. Bakura just never did anything for me (though I LUV that sexy British accent- I just happen to like Joey's hardheadedness and Yami Yugi's, uh, Yami Yugi-ness). I don't like anti-gay people. I mean, if a friend of mine was anti-gay I probably wouldn't disown them unless they were really fanatic about it. But in my opinion, I would much rather see two men (or two women) in a loving, caring relationship rather than a man and a woman in an abusive, unloving relationship. Not to say all heterosexuals are in those situations- far from it!- but I don't see where the choice is difficult. Yeah. Who knows how long they're gonna live? Might as well say it before it's too late. I don't think I'm in any real danger of a burnout. I like juggling lots of stuff! That way if I'm stuck on one fic I have something else to work on.

Kar-chan: Yeah! I suppose it is. Ah, that's okay. Well, I just wanted to give it a try- the Ronin's will probably remain straight in my stories, though I'm not against a gay bad guy becoming infatuated with one of our boys. Actually, I was. Though I guess that would do it (shonen-ai). Glenn's my favorite character, too. He gets victimized in most of my other CC stuff as well, though he's straight in all of those pieces. Hmm, well, you could always try a second-hand game store that sells new and used games. Or, you can try to purchase it online. Amazon.Com has it at a kinda high price (unless you go used). E-bay is always an option (and you can find other Chrono Cross stuff, too). I'm at e-bay now they seem to have some new ones available and the soundtrack. Ooo. . . soundtrack. . . *drools* Heh, Dragonia. Haven't worked on it in a while to tell you the truth. I probably should though, shouldn't I? Aw, that's okay Kar-chan. I like getting reviews from anyone!

Akemi: I KNOW! There isn't enough of it!!! IT'S SO FREAKIN' SAD!!! I think that there could be more, but let's face it- _Chrono Cross_ may be a GREAT game, but not every fan is going to write fanfiction and not every player will love every game. Compared to the _Final Fantasy_ series, _Kingdom Hearts_, and the _Zelda_ series, CC is small beans in the world of video game fanfiction. But that isn't such a bad thing all the time. For one, I can honestly say that there's a bigger percentage of really good fic writers in this community than in the others. In fandoms like _Harry Potter_ or even my other major fandom, _Ronin Warriors_, you have to wade through loads of pure CRAP before you can even find something remotely enjoyable. And I do mean CRAP. RW is a fandom plagued with bad Mary Sues. Do I write RW Mary Sues? Yes, I do, but, not to sound egotistical, I don't write "crap". I take great care and pride to produce quality products, and my RW readers know I like to take down and revise stuff. Why do you think I'm rewriting _Thick as Thieves_? Because I don't feel the original was good enough (and quite frankly _Thick as Thieves_ sounds less like a musical than plain old _Thieves_ -_-*). ANYWAYS, _Chrono Cross_ is a nice fandom if you know what you're looking for. There's a lot of good fics- yaoi and non-yaoi alike. 

~Dixxy


	4. Chapter Four

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Four

Glenn stared at Kid in disbelief. Out of all the people he'd expected to find, she was one of the last he'd think of. His eyes widened as his jaw dropped, causing the thief to giggle hysterically. He found himself at a near loss of words. _Well, at least I am no longer alone with these horrid Mystics._ "Kid? Schala? What. . . what are you doing here!? This is a prisoner of war camp! Were you captured?!"

Kid gave Glenn the Stink Eye, a look she had perfected during the journey with Serge. "No, Glenny-boy, the Mystics invited me over fer tea and crumpets because we're all old mates, you know. We laughed, we cried, we played croquet- OF COURSE I WAS CAPTURED, YOU STUPID DRAGOON!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M DOING HERE?! MY BLOODY LAUNDRY?! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS AND YOU HAVE THE RUDDY NERVE TO ASK SUCH A DAMN STUPID QUESTION!?" After her outburst died down, Kid calmed and shook her head. "Oi, I'm sorry, mate, I forgot you've gone through a bad time. Yer brain's probably not up to snuff yet, right?"

Glenn sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I suppose not," he said. 

"No matter. So, tell me what happened," said Kid, crossing her legs and propping her elbows on her knees, then placed her chin in her cupped palms. "Talk, mate. You were beaten bloody and crying hysterically when they threw you in 'ere with me. I've never seen anyone that upset, not even when Big Sis tried to get some of the younger kids to take a bath- and I'll tell you that wasn't always fun and games."

The Dragoon couldn't help but grin at the comment. At least she was trying to be light-heartened about this. But once he started talking his face grew darker. "The Mystics attacked Termina- hard. They also attacked Arni. I cannot speak for Guldove or Marburle or Water Dragon Isle, but I imagine that they may have been hit as well. I was captured during the assault on Termina."

"Arni, eh?" Kid asked, her eyes wide. "How do you know that?"

Glenn swallowed. "They have Serge," he said. _Oh, peachy. Here I am stuck in a prisoner's cell with Kid, who is in love with Serge, who I am ALSO in love with. This cannot possibly go over well!_ he thought. His eyes wandered up to Kid's eyes, which had suddenly taken on a confused and concerned look. 

"Glenny-boy? You all right?"

"I. . ."

Kid shook her head. "Never mind. Is Serge all right?"

"I think so," he said. "But the last time I saw him was a couple of days ago. I think. I honestly do not know how long it has been. The Mystics kept me awake for so long, and then they threw me in here. . . I have no idea how long it has been! But I do not think Serge is in danger- the Mystics are more concerned with military personnel like me, not lowly fisherman like Serge. I would imagine they would sooner throw him to work in the kitchen as a dishwasher before they hurt him."

"Oh, that's good- I was worried about 'im," he said. 

_Kid will never speak to me again._

"So, was anyone else captured?"

"From the journey?" Glenn asked. Kid nodded. "I do not know. It is possible, but I cannot say for sure. At the very least the three of us were taken, and since Termina was attacked that put a lot of us at risk. I know the Devas and Viper went into battle- that was how I was captured, I was in battle- but I do not think any of them were taken. I seem to be the primary political prisoner."

"Why?" asked Kid. "No offense, Glenny-boy, but yer just a private."

"Who happens to be Grandmaster Dario's baby brother," Glenn added.

Kid winced. "Ouch. So then you're like a wriggling worm on a hook for the big ol' bass that's yer brother, huh?" Kid asked. Glenn nodded glumly. The thief shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval. "That's not good, Glenny-boy. This complicates things. Yer his family, his own flesh and blood. He's not going to leave you hanging, but that poor fellow's got a lot on his hands now, doesn't he?"

"Yes, I suppose so," said Glenn. "I do not want Dario to endanger himself."

Kid snorted. "Who the hell said you'd have a say in it?"

Glenn closed his eyes and thought about this. No matter how infatuated Dario was with Riddel or involved he was with the Dragoons, he was STILL his brother. Ever since their parents had died, the elder had been extra protective and caring for the younger. In a way, Glenn was almost like a son to Dario- even with help from Radius, Zappa, and Zippa, his brother had virtually raised him on his own. "True. Dario would not take this lightly."

"So just sit back and ride it out- not much we can do about it here," said Kid. She leaned in with a wild grin on her face. "So, aside from being a prisoner here, how is Serge? I haven't seen 'im in a few months and I was wondering how me mate was doing." She giggled. "He isn't involved with anyone or anything, is 'e?"

Glenn clamped his mouth shut, unsure of what to do.

Kid sat up straight, cocked her head to one side, and widened her eyes. "Glenny-boy?"

"Would you please stop calling me 'Glenny-boy'?"

"Now don't you change the subject **GLENNY-BOY**." Glenn briefly let the word "bitch" into his train of thought. "You were acting pretty odd there, mate, and I'm curious to know why. It's just me! I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot, what with Serge, Nikki and me breaking into Viper Manor and all, but we're mates now. And since you seem to be uncomfortable. . . is something going on that you're not telling me?"

Glenn looked away nervously. "Uh. . . it is a long story?"

"Nice try, Glenny-boy, but I got all the time in the world. Talk."

_Damn it, she's winning this fight. This must be what the other Dragoons all say about women. Perhaps my homosexuality isn't such a bad thing. I do not think Serge is this bad in terms of being a nagging annoyance._ Glenn shook his head. "No. You would hate me if I told you. You would just. . . hate me."

"No I won't- unless you killed him or something I won't hate you."

Glenn winced. "Serge is. . . gay." _She's going to kill me._

Kid remained unmoved. She looked bored and unimpressed with the revelation, her chin in the palm of her hand and her eyelids drooping slightly. She blew up at her bangs and snorted. "Yeah, so? Serge is gay, grass is green, fire is hot, water is wet, and the sky's blue- please tell me something I don't know."

This took Glenn by surprise. "You KNEW!?"

The thief snorted. "Like hell yes! He told me a little before we broke into Viper Manor. I asked him about Leena and he told me he wasn't interested. So that's when I tried making my move on him, but he looked frightened, and then I figured it out. Mate, that boy was embarrassed! And pretty upset, too, so I told him it was all right. I had a few mates back on the Mainland who kept the same sex in their beds, so it doesn't bother me. Course Serge refused to come out of the closet, no matter how much I tried. And on our little journey we went, all with Serge and I talking about guys behind the scenes. Let me tell you, it's weird talking about boys with another boy in THAT way. Still, it was kind of interesting to know what homosexuals want in partners." Kid sighed, rolled her shoulders back, and grinned at Glenn. "Did he finally do it?"

"Well. . . kind of."

Kid laughed, then raised a mischievous eyebrow, a wide grin crossing her face. Suddenly, Glenn felt a pit form in her stomach. It was one thing for Kid to accept Serge's walk of life, but his? With Serge? Him and Serge? Serge and him? "You aren't with him, are you Glenny-boy?"

Glenn's face suddenly flushed to match one of Nikki's stage costumes.

The thief's eyes suddenly grew to twice their normal size and she covered her now wide open mouth with a gloved hand. "BLOODY 'ELL! YOU'RE GAY, TOO!!" Kid exclaimed suddenly. Glenn blushed even more, not liking this sudden bout of un-manliness on his part. "Did you bang 'im?"

"Did I WHAT!?" Glenn asked, taken aback by Kid's straightforward comment.

Kid was clapping and giggling excitedly. "You heard me, Glenny-boy. Did you screw? Bang? Tango for two in the twilight? Make love? Get laid? Do it for the nookie? Hump? Fool around? Do the dirty? Score? Glenny, did you and Serge-?!" Kid's eyes were wide and child like as she waited rather impatiently for his answer.

"NO!" Glenn said, taking offense. "I know what you meant! I only found out he was gay after I was captured and all I did was kiss him-" More squeals and giggles from Kid, who now seemed FAR too pleased with herself. Glenn scoffed. "Bitch. You tricked me into saying that, did you not?"

"I played you like a harp!"

"I would prefer if you did not do that, especially where it concerns my personal life," said Glenn. He turned his nose up. "I appreciate you for helping me during my time of trouble and I thank you deeply, but I think that I still deserve a little privacy when it comes to who I choose to be with, be it Serge or anyone else."

Kid nodded sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, Glenny-boy. I've been mean to ya. Want me to give you a hug? I know yer homosexual and all but it's the least I can do. And admit it- even a gay like you has to appreciate my feminine beauty."

Glenn stared at Kid blankly, not really seeing her point. Well, he could kind of see it. He understood where Kid was pretty. Her long, blonde hair was well kept, she took care of her figure, and she had large blue eyes that went well, albeit in a strange way, with the much smaller features of the rest of her face. Still, he wasn't attracted to her in the least bit. He smiled. "I do admit that you are pretty, but I am not attracted to you in the least bit. I will take the hug, though." Kid laughed as she gladly gave her friend the embrace. 

"Nice. You're cuddly, mate."

Glenn couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you."

"Serge's got it good."

The Dragoon flushed and pulled away. "I. . ."

Kid burst out laughing again. "So tell me- 'ow long ave you known?"

"Known what?"  
"That you were gay?"

Glenn shrugged. "Always, I guess."

"Ah. Out of the closet?"

"To some people, yes, but to most others, no. All told, I believe that only you, Serge, Karsh, Zippa, and Elliot knew about it." Glenn turned away. "I have not told Dario yet- I am a bit nervous to tell him. He always talks about how some day our children will be able to play together and how our wives will sit and chat over hot coffee on early mornings. Kid, I really do not that will ever be possible. I am just not attracted to women. At all."

"Yeah, I guess so- wait, who's Elliot?"

"Um. . ." By this point Kid was sure that if Glenn was any redder he'd start loosing blood. "Elliot. . . he was. . . I. . . an old lover. He. . . he knew I was. . . different, I guess, right away. It was odd- he just KNEW." Glenn sighed. "I can't explain it, really. But he was. . . I. . ."

"Tell me about 'im. I'm interested."

Glenn gave up- it was a loosing battle. "He was a few years older than me. . . we were both privates at the same time, though he'd been one for a lot longer. Whenever we were training, I could always feel Elliot's eyes on me and it made me nervous, because I didn't understand what they were about. He'd follow me around, too, and for a while I thought that he was onto me and wanted to kill me or something for being different." He laughed and shook his head. "He knew what I was all right, but he had other things in mind.

"One evening, he finally cornered me in the dragon shed, right into a corner. He'd asked me why I kept running away, and I couldn't say anything. He laughed, but it wasn't the menacing laugh I'd expect. It was gentle, care-free. . . he leaned in and gave me my first kiss," Glenn said. "I was stunned speechless. . . I'd never felt that before. It felt. . . wonderful. I. . . lost control. I let him have me." The Dragoon hung his head. "Elliot was a very handsome man. He was so tall, and he had perfect teeth and perfect strawberry blonde hair and gorgeous brown eyes. . . he was a dream boat. The idea that he WANTED me drove me crazy- I was afraid to say 'no'."

Kid listened intently. "Go on."

"Well, the next morning was how Karsh found out. He had to check on Goober-"

"Goober?"

"That is his dragon's name- don't look at me or Karsh! Marcy thought it was a cute name and since she was little at the time Karsh let the name stick to keep her happy. Anyways, you can imagine what happened next when he found us in the corner. Chaos for the next several minutes. I was so frightened I clung to Elliot as I pulled my pants on and ran out of there with him," he said. Kid was laughing, but Glenn shook his head. "Karsh didn't say anything for a while and Elliot and I continued out affair. It was love. Elliot used to sneak me little gifts and paid for nights in the inn. . . I was swept away.

"Karsh spoke to me around a month later and asked me if I was all right. I had no idea what he was talking about, but he told me that I did not need to act so bashful about my preferences. I told him I appreciated his acceptance, but I was not ready to, as you put it, 'come out of the closet'. So Elliot and I continued our secret romance in peace," said Glenn. "Then we got into a horrible argument- I don't even remember what it was about, but it was likely something stupid. Still, the argument just kept escalating until we were screaming and ready to draw our blades on each other- Kid, a man I had shared my bed with for close to three months and I nearly drew blades on each other! Before the fight got to that point, Elliot told me we should stop seeing each other, then he stormed out. I was so upset. . . Karsh found me sometime later and brought me to his room-"

"You and KARSH!?"

Glenn's chin dropped to the floor in shock. After a few moments he recomposed himself and shot back at Kid. "Kid? I am. . . 'gay' as you so. . . CLEVERLY. . . put it. . . BUT I AM **NOT** A SLUT!!!" Glenn recomposed himself after his outburst and looked away. "Elliot is the ONLY man I've been with. Besides, Karsh is as straight as an arrow- in fact, he has been spotted leaving Orlha's bar several hours after closing time and I know that myself and some of my peers have seen her hanging out at the manor more often than she used to. Which was never. Anyways, Karsh let me cry it out that night, much like when we were children and I fought with Dario over petty things," he said. Glenn smiled. "I guess we lucked out in a way- Elliot and I were able to be friends after the fact once we apologized."  
"What happened to him?"

Glenn's eyes lowered. "I do not know."

"You. . . don't know?"

"No," said Glenn. "He and a few other Dragoons went out on a mission to Earth Dragon Isle and never returned. No sign of them was ever found, though you know what that sand pit can be like- if there was anything, it has been lost to the desert." The knight sighed. "I took it hard. He was my first lover, even if we were not still together. I missed him. But I have accepted that he is gone, and I have been accepting it for a long time."

Kid gave Glenn another comforting hug. "I'm sure he'd want you to find someone else. No one wants to be alone." She patted his back. "You know alone far too well, don't you? You loose your parents, then you're brother and Karsh- don't try and tell me he was buddy-buddy with you after what happened!- and your lover."

"But now I have some of that back, Kid," said Glenn. He looked up at the ceiling wistfully. "Dario is free from the Masamune's possession, Karsh is at peace with what happened, and assuming we get out of this mess in one piece I guess Serge and I will have each other. Not to mention I have many good friends from our adventures." 

Kid nodded, then began to look around. "All right. You feeling better?"  
"Very much, thank you."

Kid rubbed her hands together as her face twisted into a grin that anyone on the quest knew all-too-well; Kid was up to something, and it would involve a great deal of mischief. "GREAT!" she said. "Now that I'm done playing nursemaid we can start planning our escape!"

"I thought you said we would wait it out!"

"Nah, I didn't want to excite you too much right away."

"Are you crazy?"  
"I need two Rainbow Shells, a Shiny Ember, and some Bone- do you have any handy?"

~

Sorry for the delay! Most of this was written. . . I just couldn't come up with a good clincher. And now I have it.

Notes and notes and some more notes!

As far as my other stories go, the _Summons_ storyline is on indefinite hiatus, though considering that story's structure you can stop reading whenever you like. _Thick as Thieves_ is currently being a pain in the ass. Big time. As is the sequel to _Marooned_. On the bright side, I think I've settled on how Garai at least FINDS OUT that Dario and Glenn are alive- the actual reunion is still on the drawing board, but I may have something solid!

Chibi Vash: Yeah, but supposedly the next Chrono game is on the drawing board- _Chrono Break_. The information released has ben very minimal, aside from the fact the title _Chrono Break_ was copyrighted by Square a summer or two ago. Silly Glenn?! o_O I don't know about you but I wouldn't be all there if I was being tortured like that!

Lena Ban Obsidian: YAY! EVERYONE, LENA BAN OBSIDAN CAN REVIEW AGAIN!!! (Monty Python Narrator: "And there was much rejoicing." The Flying Circus: "Yay.") Yes, yes it is! Like the song! Yes, poor Glenn. Well, considering it's my first crack at torture I think it was pretty good. Perfect, no, but you gotta learn to walk before you can run, right? Next torture session I do will be better. Maybe I'll make Rowen, Omi, and Quatre sit through a _Teletubbies_ marathon. *rolls eyes at next comment*. As we can see, Kid seems to be cool with the whole thing. In fact, she seems happy with it. The other two CC projects I'm working on are kind of on the back burner right now- I've been a little neglectful to my RW audience as of late, so I'm doing the next _Consequences of Capture v2.0_ chapter next, perhaps followed by _EoIv2.0_. And I'm working on my websites, too. 

Uftaki: Yes, it's Kid. Well, she seems happy about it, considering she knew he was gay and all. Thanks for the torture comments. Well, I imagine Dario will have a conniption. Or deny it. One of the two. But a conniption sounds like more fun. The thing about the Karsh/Norris pairing is the fact that they DO clash. I like the pairing myself, but there's more to yaoi than just slashing any two males in a series. You just CAN'T take two characters who hate each other and slash it (unless your purpose is to portray a rape or sexual assault of some sort) unless you SUPPORT it. Yeah, a lot of series have things like that, but it's okay.

Yuka: WHOA! Threesome?! Hmm, sounds interesting but I think I'll pass. Not that much into yaoi yet, sorry. You know, that's a demand that probably won't get met. Just a hunch. Ooo, Kid would be a FUN cos play! And you can lengthen the skirt a little for decency's sake if you wanted to. Go ahead- I never liked Dark Serge (normal Serge is better). In fact I'd laugh and point at him if you turned him into a girl.

Alba: Yay! Yeah, Glenn needs a hug. Oh, the arse line again? I think that's turned into a running gag amongst the Chrono Cross community. But that's the beauty of putting Kid in- it was unexpected. I can see the Mystics making trouble, and we know Dario will not be happy. By "innocent" I mean a more pure, young type of love with holding hands, giggling, flirty stuff. Not whips and chains kinky stuff. 

Nevyn: I was gonna do Serge, but then I decided Kid would be an overall better choice. Thanks on all the compliments!

Freefall Insanity: Heh, considering this is my first major yaoi/shounen ai I'm pretty proud of myself! Wow, I feel special. Favorites are a good thing.

Bfcat: Thank you! And you shouldn't feel so bad about yourself- everyone needs practice. I think about something of the stuff I used to write and I scare myself- I used to SUCK as a writer. Oh, it was all so awful. . . *shudders*

Anime-05: That's okay. If you ask me, to write fanfics about a series you need to really feel a lot for the series- I only write from Ronin Warriors and Chrono Cross. I used to write Lunar: SSSC but I've lost enough interest in the series that writing for it is hard now. 

Cats-say-Meow: Don't make fun of shonen-ai! Shonen-ai is awesome! And as always, thank you!

Aras Melanki: It's far from over. It was on hiatus for a while, sure, but it ain't over! I like putting in CT elements in my fic- CT was great, I just happen to like some of the CC plot elements and characters better. I mean, Crono and his gang were cool and all, but in a way, not so cool. Why do I say that? It seems like a lot of characters are carbon copies of the crew assembled in CT- the silent protagonist, the princess type character, the nerdy scientist/inventor, the robot, the knight, the primitive character, and the bad-guy turned good guy everyone obsesses over. In a way it cheapens the characters, which is really very sad. That's probably one reason why the FF series does so well- every game after 7 was different- you go from a resistance movement to a military school to. . . um. . . I have FFIX but I haven't played any of it yet -.-* They're all DIFFERENT. Now granted CC has a lot of the same elements, but they have their own twists that gives the story its own unique flavor. For example, you could compare the two main characters in the Chrono series thus far- Crono and Serge. Crono was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time, unless you go for the whole Entity mystery thing. Serge was the primary focus of Lynx and FATE- he would have gotten involved no matter where he was, because the villains saw him as a "holy grail" of sorts. Despite the fact they have next to no character development, that ALONE is enough to dissect just how different they have to be. And as for that last part. . . I dunno, I haven't finished the story yet.

Kar-chan: And now it's NOT summer. I like sleeping in all day, too. Especially considering how little sleep I usually get (I'm a night owl, but society wants me to get up too freakin' early). Yes- second hand stores are GREAT! I recently bought FFVIII and FFIX second-hand, and y'know what? They were in great condition, too. According to the salesperson I spoke with, RPGs tend to be in excellent condition when they're turned in, so you'll probably be fine. Hmm. I know that someone tried to sell the entire country Canada for a dollar once on e-Bay, and I think someone actually placed a bid. Dragonia. . . oh yeah.

Masamuneangel: Okay.

Dogcollar: Thanks! And the answer is simple- he'd cry, or kick their asses. 

~Dixxy


	5. Chapter Five

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Five

_I hate this damn country._

Norris took a long drag off his cigarette, half-listening to the few people in Porre he actually considered to be "friends". They were located in the basement of his parents' old boarding house, which had since been converted into an orphanage and rebellion movement base of operations, a place Norris once again called home after fifteen long years away. Norris had isolated himself in a corner near a vent so the smoke wouldn't bother his friends, eventually escaping through the chimney shaft and into the night sky, which was already clogged with smoke. 

_Things were so different back then. . . this isn't really home anymore, is it?_

Norris sighed, looking up at the window wistfully. This building was now a perfect representation of what he was. In brighter days, it was full of happiness and cheer. The childhood he loved to reminisce about. Playing in the backyard with his friends and neighbors. In those days they were cops and robbers – some of the boys would take their father's handkerchiefs and tie them over their noses and mouths while the other boys used their mother's eyeliner to draw mustaches on their lips. The girls would be nearby, playing with their dolls and occasionally catching one of the boys long enough to play tea party.

But then. . .

Norris didn't like to think about it. Time brought change to everything, and he was no exception. No longer was he the innocent boy of his youth who liked to play with toy guns, holding up banks made of wooden crates or hauling off the bad guys to a wooden shed that served as a jail. Running away from the girls and their dreaded "girl cooties" was no longer an issue, either. Now, even though he was just twenty-six years old, he already felt like a tired old soldier. The guns he used now were real, and the criminals he brought to real jails wouldn't bat an eye at the thought of stabbing him through the heart to continue their crimes. Those who didn't were prisoners of war who begged him for mercy, crying for their wives and mothers as his peers beat them bloody.

He hated who he was becoming.

It wasn't until he reached El Nido as the commander of the Black Wind unit that he really began to question what he was doing. Since he had been enlisted, he had hated what he was doing but he felt he had no other choice. This was a trap, and there was no escape from the blood and horror he was surrounded with. This hell that had stolen his youth from him and buried childhood memories under the cakes of dried blood on his own hands.

But now he saw escape. Granted the Acacian Dragoons were still an army, but something about them was different. They weren't as cold and cruel as the Porres were. Porre prided itself on what was best for the war or for the country – chatter at lunches and outings with fellow soldiers were highly discouraged. At best he would know another soldiers name and nothing else.

The Dragoons were different. Though their barracks were clearly more humble than the ones he was used to sleeping in, they were brilliantly alive with soldiers who told of late night escapades with the girls of their dreams and sang old folk songs as they danced drunkenly with mugs of ale in their hands. They laughed and embraced each other in times of sadness, supporting each other in times of grief. Even the Devas were part of all this (save Marcy, the little witch that liked to kick his shins and make him drop dishes on the floor and get Orcha mad). Higher ranking officers in Porre wouldn't dare to lower themselves to such standards, and yet Dario and Karsh would hook arms and skip around in a circle after Zoah had managed to get enough whiskey in their systems. Sometimes the General and Miss Riddel would watch, and every once in a while a few Dragoons would parade Riddel around on their shoulders like a queen, causing her to laugh happily and her father to curse wildly. 

But what amazed him the most was despite the fact that most of them had seen battle and killed with their swords and axes was that they all still retained a youthful sort of cheer. Granted they took what they did seriously as they had a chain of islands to defend should they be attacked, but they took pride in their work. To them it wasn't just listening to whatever General Viper told them to do – to them, they were helping their families, loved ones, and the beautiful place they called home. 

Norris wished he could be apart of it. Watching this made his heart sink. If Porre took over, all of this would be gone. Most of them would be executed, though some of them might end up as man servants to his superiors. More than likely Lady Riddel (and possibly, once she got older, Marcy) would become someone's personal call girl while the Devas would be left to rot if they weren't killed first. 

He decided he wanted his youth back. So he could be more like them.

Perhaps it was this desire to regain his youthful purity that caused Norris to follow that poor mixed-up Serge kid across El Nido and back again. Oh sure, he wanted to see the Frozen Flame as bad as anyone else, but he felt that he had to get away from the other Porres stationed in El Nido. He became friends with the rest of the party of travelers, some better than others. After the battle was over, he wanted to stay in El Nido. He fell in love with everything about the land- its people, it's natural beauty. . . to him, El Nido was like paradise.

But shortly after the defeat of FATE, Norris was captured by his former peers and shipped back to Porre kicking and screaming – almost literally. He'd been taken in the middle of the night from the Termina Inn, the innkeeper drugged and the only other guest locked in their room so he could be kidnapped without interruption. They had him good, too – tied hand and foot, gagged, and dragged through the cobblestone street to the last boat back to Porre. Norris remember looking in desperation for some escape, but he found none, and was soon bound for Porre. 

But his nightmare was only beginning. While on the boat "home", he was sentenced to a public execution by means of hanging. Prior to this he would be subjected to public humiliation by means of rotten vegetables being thrown at him in the nude and possibly a public whipping. He was thrown into a holding cell on the bottom level of the ship and left to rot until they docked in Porre.

Despite everything that happened over the course of the adventure with Serge and the horrors of his training days, Norris was now beyond scared. None of his friends – his real friends back in El Nido – would know where he was and would be unable to come to his rescue. He'd never see any of them again, nor would he see the islands he had come to love and admire. He would die in the abysmal gray of the streets of Porre, alone in a sea of unfriendly faces.

It was apon their arrival that he was saved. A small band of non-military rebels boarded the boat and pirated it for anything they felt had any use – this included Norris. Though he didn't enjoy being tossed over the shoulder of the large-armed man who appeared to be in charge of the operation, it certainly beat the alternative. Once the rebels accepted him as one of them, he had come full circle and was returned to his old home, which functioned as their HQ.

And here he had remained since.

"You know, you really shouldn't smoke- it's bad for your lungs." Norris looked up to see that everyone but one of the other rebels had left the basement for bed. The tall, strawberry blonde swordsman was sauntering towards his corner, a concerned, yet cheerful look on his face as he plopped down on the wine barrel next to Norris' barstool. 

Norris scoffed. Sometimes, Elliot deLarouge was a bit much to handle, even if they two were able to relate to each other better than any of the others. He was the type who lived by his own set of rules, yet failed to tell anyone else what game he was playing. It was no secret, however, that one of Elliot's favorite games was "Annoy Norris till he Screams". 

Elliot almost always won that game.

But Norris didn't feel like loosing today. He gave Elliot a cool glare, grumbling when he realized that dopey smile hadn't faded from his face yet. "I need the cigarette, Elliot. It calms my nerves, and right now I feel like I'm on my last one. So buzz off and go bug someone else. Or sleep with someone else for all I care."

"Nah, the Porres are cracking down on the gay bars again," said Elliot, taking note of one of the most useful ways he could annoy his fellow rebel with – his homosexuality. Norris was by no means homophobic; he didn't care one way or the other that gay men and lesbians existed in world, and he was confident that nothing would change his own sexuality. But that didn't stop Elliot from trying to hit on him, grabbing his butt, or locking Norris in a hotel room with a drag queen by the name of Venus de Mylar for kicks. Norris grew sick of it (and downright petrified whenever Venus tried tying him to a bed with a pair of fishnet stockings), but he wouldn't quit. Mostly it was because both parties Elliot know the intent wasn't malicious – in fact if something DID go wrong the swordsman would be the first to get him out of trouble. That didn't stop Norris from getting mad.

"But you're so cute when you're angry!" was Elliot's usual response. 

None the less, they got along most of the time (Elliot only played pranks when he was bored, and luckily for Norris that wasn't very often). Elliot had been one of Viper's Dragoons before a mission went bad and he ended up in Porre after a long, confusing series of events (Norris was beyond lost on the issue – as far as he knew Elliot had been to both of the two moons). Because of the high tension between the two countries, ships usually didn't go between Porre and El Nido, so Elliot was temporarily stuck on the mainland. Since both men wanted to go back to El Nido, they would often reminisce about the archipelago together. 

The swordsman scratched the back of his neck, looking at the cigarette hanging from Norris' bottom lip. "I used to smoke, too, but my last boyfriend didn't like it," said Elliot. Norris rolled his eyes. Elliot was by no means a virgin, and by no means was he monogamous. Oh no, not THAT horny little Dragoon! Though he didn't do it as often as say, every night, it wasn't quite that uncommon for Elliot to stay out all night and appear the next morning wearing a shirt that no one recognized and smelling like cheap cologne, usually with a happy grin on his face. Once, some strange young man no one else knew with bright orange hair was spotted very early one morning dashing out the door with his pants only half-way up his legs. 

Still, despite the fact he was the undisputed "man whore" of the group, it was obvious Elliot wanted to commit to someone. He talked about his ex-boyfriend very often, though he never mentioned his name. Norris realized this may have been his fault – he'd stayed in El Nido for sometime, and from the sounds of it his previous beau was still in the closet. Had it been someone Norris knew, things might get awkward. That, or perhaps mentioning his old lover's name was just too much for Elliot. 

"Is he around to nag at me about it?" Norris asked.   
"I certainly hope not," he said. He sighed. "I bet he's back in El Nido."

Norris sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "El Nido is the most beautiful place I've ever been," he said. "Everything there is just wonderful. The air is so clean, technology has barely touched them. . . lucky bastard, you don't know how lucky you are to have grown up in a place like that. I grew up around this kind of crap."

"This was your old house."

"Yes," said Norris, putting out his cigarette on the heel of his boot. He coughed, clearing his throat. Two twin tufts of smoke emerged from his nostrils as he exhaled, getting a mildly disgusted look from the Dragoon. "And even back then I was surrounded by the wonders of Porre industry."

Elliot threw his head back, causing some of his hair to swish back, then fall right back into place. "Well, I agree with you there- I'll take a beach over this shit," he said. He breathed in deep, then began to cough from the excess of Norris' smoke. "Cleaner air, too. Even for a smoker. But here so many people smoke it's hard to tell where the tobacco ends and the sea salt begins."

Norris flipped Elliot the bird, but gave him a wry smile anyways. "You're strange."

"I'm queer and proud."

The fugitive cocked an eyebrow. "Queer?"

"It's a word they used back in Choras to explain my kind of people," said Elliot. He took on a bitter expression. "Bullshit if you ask me. The only difference between you and me is this- I bang boys, and you'd like to bang a girl if you ever found one who'd jump in bed with you, ya poor little virginal sap. I drink the same water, eat the same food, and stand on the same ground as you do, don't I?" 

The ex-Porre rolled his eyes (especially at the virgin comment – why did Elliot even CARE about that, never mind think and think aloud on it?!). "Elliot, Elliot, Elliot. I've never once said anything directly against your lifestyle – I'm fine with it. What I don't like is when you decide to push your lifestyle on me for a cheap laugh at my disposal. But if being gay makes you happy, then be gay," said Norris. "Just don't tell me about the details."

"I know, I know, but you're a good listener, you know?" said Elliot. "My old lover was, too." He leaned back against the wall. "Ah. . . what I wouldn't give for another romp in the sack with him. He liked to act tough around the other Dragoons, but I knew how to make him turn to putty with just a few seductive looks and a few brushes of my hand. Then I'd have my way with him and wham BAM! What a night." He closed his eyes and breathed deep. "I miss him."

"Sounds likes it," Norris pointed out. 

"When I get back home to El Nido, I wanna find him, make up with him, and then I'm gonna make love to him until he can't take it anymore!" Elliot said. Norris turned away, and Elliot laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't like hearing about it, but don't YOU want to make love to some special girl for hours on end?"

_In my dreams, yes,_ Norris thought. There was one girl he liked. . . but her interests lied with another man, and it was against his beliefs to try and split the two up. "I can't do it, Elliot. I just can't, and I'm sure you can figure out why – and no this isn't a lesbian I'm talking about!"

"Oh, I fully agree! If she loves someone else then leave her be!" said Elliot. He laughed. "I would've impaled any man who tried to get between me and my man while we were together. I loved him. I know it must sound weird to you but I really loved him. He was loyal, affectionate, and very sweet behind closed doors. I liked holding him. He was so. . . cuddly."

"Cuddly."

"Yeah, I know it's a weird word for a man, but at the time he was still a teenager, and teenagers are so nimble and soft. It was great. I want to find someone like him again and settled down somewhere in the countryside. We could adopt children if we wanted to – take in some war orphans like Mistress," said Elliot. "We could lie in each other's arms at night and talk about everything and nothing at the same time."

Norris gave Elliot a shrug. "Yet you'll screw anyone who calls himself gay."

"I feel I have the right to sample what's out there."

"You're one in a million, Elliot. And I'm glad there's only ONE of you."

Elliot laughed. "Yeah, Glenny used to tell me all the time." Then, he covered his mouth. This was the first time Elliot's beloved ex-boyfriend had ever had a name. Norris made eye contact with his companion, thoughts racing through his head in a blurred frenzy.

_No, Elliot isn't talking about the Glenn YOU know! Glenn must be a common name! After all that was that Truce hero's name! Yeah! I bet there are PLENTY of Dragoons named Glenn! Why I bet they have at least one Glenn in each division! They could have their own Glenn club! Because THAT Glenn couldn't be gay! No the brave younger brother of Dario who could weld two Einlanzers and stand up to tough monsters Glenn!_ Still, Norris had a gut feeling. . .

"Glenny?" Norris asked. He face began to pale.

"Yeah. That's what I called him," said Elliot slowly. "It's obviously a little affectionate way of saying 'Glenn'." He laughed lightly and tilted his head back. "I was afraid you'd react if I ever said anything, but I guess it's out of the bag now, right? I know there was another one who specialized in archery, but my Glenn. . ."

"Dario's brother?" asked Norris.

Elliot brightened and nearly jumped the ex-Porre. Norris had never seen him this energetic and almost felt himself get sick to his stomach for shock. "Really!? Is he still single!? Glenn hasn't found anyone else yet, has he?! How is he doing!? Does he ever talk about me!? Does he miss me!? Is he-"

Norris felt his head spin, then he fainted. 

* * *

First and foremost, sorry about the screwy formats - some of the characters (as in font characters, not people characters ) I used to use are no longer accepted on this site, so I'm using QuickEdit to put in horizontal bars.

"Nyctophobia" is one of the proper ways to say "fear of the dark". I found an online list of real "phobias". You'd be surprised just how many things we're afraid of.

As far as smoking goes, I take Elliot's standpoint and I have a creative way to make Norris quit smoking .

I didn't intend for Elliot to be dead almost from the get-go- he went through a number of different phases, though I liked this one the best. Yeah, I got plans for him but they probably aren't what you're expecting. 

There will probably be another chapter focusing on Norris and the rebellion- namely how they're going to get involved with the Medina crisis- and then I'll probably decide to head back to Serge. 

Oh, here's my reason for the wait: THIS CHAPTER WAS A SNARLING SNAPPING BITCH TO WRITE. It isn't even like I had writer's block – I just couldn't get it to flow quite right. At this point I'm about ready to give up and call it "good enough". The whole point of this chapter was to introduce Elliot and have Norris find out Glenn is gay. 

Lena: I'm happy you're happy. As far as CC stuff goes you're probably my best beta, and you definitely helped out (especially with Glenn's "I'm not a slut" line). The site is actually under construction right now – at least the Ronin part is.

Uftaki: You should see some of the e-mails Lena and I exchanged about Kid and her opinions on Serge and Glenn's relationship. Let me put it this way- with the way we were using her, she'd fit right in with the Chrono Cross yaoi community and then some. Oh heck we'd probably hail her our hero and follow her to the depths of her second underground bunker were she has hidden cameras placed in strategic areas such as Serge's room, Glenn's room, ect. Sadly, kicking fanfics doesn't help unless I print them. Otherwise I have to kick my computer and that's not a very good idea. The only thing that bugs me about the Karsh/Norris pairing is that, as you all remember, Karsh had feelings for Riddel. The game never quite says it, but it can't be hinted at any more. It's a weird situation, that's for sure. Oh, you so sure about Elliot? 

Sylver: Well, TaT has some shounen-ai, too, you know. But I'm glad you're reading this, too. No, not quite that – I figure she's going to play MacGuyver and try to make a bomb. She'll probably fail, but at the very least we should get some crispy captives. There's a TON of ways to say "sex", most of them lewd or just plain weird. Damn you, SquareEnix! Though _Cross_ was a success in Japan, it still didn't match _Trigger._ There are a few people who insist _Cross_ is a better game (I like _Cross_ better simply because I like the plot better and the version of _Trigger_ I have annoys me due to a nearly painful load time), some fans of the original don't like certain plot points. Think about it – Lucca is presumed dead, Crono and Marle are unaccounted for but thanks to the Dead Sea also assumed dead, the Masamune has been tainted, we don't know what happened to Magus, and Robo appears to have been deleted without a back-up. Even Ayla might have been a victim of some unknown fate – face it, we really don't know that much about little Leah. You also need to understand that most of the loose ends are tied up in this game – Schala is one of them, as is the whole double dimensional crisis. I still feel like there's an unanswered question or two I want answered, but I can't put my finger on them.

Freefall Insanity: The whole point of most of my fics is to torment poor Glenn. And I agree with the bwahahaha.

Aras Melanki: Haven't gotten that far yet – I just haven't had the patience to sit down for a video game. Besides, I also got a few new anime series, and I'm primarily an otaku, not a gamer. Oh sure I love my VGs, but it really depends on my mood. And thanks for the compliments, as always!

Liolo: For some reason I had trouble typing that. . . well, not quite. It'll happen, but next chapter I have a few surprises in store for _Trigger_ veterans.

Tami: I do! FF.Net can be persnickety, can't it? As can be computers in general. Some of the computers at school I've verbally announced I'd like to violently destroy, and a friend of mind tries to remind me that the inanimate objects don't hold any harsh intentions towards me. Well, I wouldn't say "obligation", but I won't argue against reviewing .

Well, there's more like 60-70 of them – 45 playables plus about 15-20 or so other important characters, like Fate, Dario, Wazuki, ect. Kid was one of the few characters who was really well developed, mostly because of her main character status. Serge, I think, wasn't that well done because he has no dialogue – without any lines, it's hard to tell how he feels about all this. With some of the others, you can tell how they feel about certain things. That's one reason I like Glenn – he isn't an open book, but if you really look at his character you can tell he's one disturbed soldier. Glenn's little Elliot talk was a result of Kid's prying – Kid does more prying later on. I like romance, but I don't like traditional ones. The most traditional one I wrote was a Ronin fanfic entitled _Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds_ and even that's a little untraditional. Somewhat. 

Kittee Amethyist: Name change, I see? Thank you very much, I enjoyed writing it! Wait, not that much, it was hard. I dunno, I like Glenn straight but he's good gay as well. Trust me – he's straight in all of my other CC stories to date (_The Memories Series _(Gleena) and _Thick as Thieves_ (Glenn/Kid). Well, you're right – I get the impression Serge might be gay, too, but the game doesn't elaborate on it. Kid, I dunno. I feel like she SHOULD end up with someone. Hey! I like Leena! And Riddel, too. I did update. And I talk weird, too.

Bu: Well here it is!

Nevyn: Ha, reading fanfics in class? Ah, what an art form. Oh, I'm sure you're doing fine. My teachers couldn't really complain. "Dixxy, why are you not working on – oh, I see, it's finished, carry on". I know the feeling all-too-well. Serge? He'll be mentioned a little later.

Jen of the Wildfire: You followed me here from the Bent Lounge, didn't you? I didn't know you liked Chrono Cross. 

Einiir: That's a different name. Well, here's the next part. Ta da!

Dixxy


	6. Chapter Six

Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Six

Norris awoke some time later lying on his bed with a damp cloth on his forehead. "You know, _I'm_ the gay one here and yet I've _never_ seen a man faint before this," he heard Elliot say from somewhere nearby. The shuffling of boots on the floor gave Norris an idea as to where his friend was, which was close enough to know he was awake.

"I'm sorry – I was a little. . . shocked?" asked Norris. "Glenn doesn't seem the type."

"Your gaydar must be broken," Elliot said casually. "I knew about the moment I saw him, and I knew I loved him right then and there." He sighed dreamily. "But we broke up before I ended up here and, well, he probably thinks I'm dead by now. Might've moved on to someone else for all I know. But. . . time is cruel and eventually I will move on as well."

"He was doing well the last time I saw him," Norris said. He sat up, crossing his arms and placing his elbows on his knees as he began to reminisce. "He was a private when I initially met him, but I got the idea that the General was evaluating him for a promotion. Dario and the other Devas seemed very proud."

"That's good," said Elliot. As Norris sat up, Elliot took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Glad to see he didn't get too bent out of shape over me. But I guess that's life, isn't it? One minute you want to ask him to spend the rest of your life with him, the next you've got each others swords to the others neck."

Norris looked at Elliot in surprise. "What happened?"

"I don't like talking about it."

"So. . . you were engaged to Glenn?"

"Not quite an engagement. . . men can't marry other men, so we have commitment ceremonies instead. There's rings and stuff, but it's usually pretty quiet and private. But, if you would like to put it into context. . . yes, we were engaged for about thirty minutes before we got into the fight, and then Glenn took the ring off and stormed away," said Elliot. "That. . . kind of hurt. Really."

"You really loved him," he said.

"Yes, I did," said Elliot. "But I feel like I treated him badly, though he always insisted otherwise." He blushed. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but the first night were together. . . was in the dragon stables." Norris turned to him with wide eyes as Elliot nodded. "It just kind of happened. I felt awful for about a week about it – Glenn seemed fine but. . . you were in the stable at some point, right? It's not exactly the most romantic place in the world and. . . I wished it would have been someplace better."

Norris felt mildly uncomfortable at the mention (he HAD been in the stables before, and now knowing it was a gay love nest made him edgy), but realized that he was bringing up some painful memories for Elliot. His friend needed to get some things off his chest, and Norris decided to listen. "I don't want to know WHY and I don't want any details – as it is, if I ever return to El Nido I'm never going in that stable ever again – but did Glenn feel upset over it?"

"No – not at all," he said. "He told me the most important thing to him is that it wasn't just a cheap bang – there was real emotion there. Love. He told me it didn't matter to him where it happened, as long as we loved each other he wouldn't have had it any other way. Still. . . I promised myself I would never do that to anyone again. Had it been someone a little older. . . you gotta understand that Glenn was sixteen at the time. Still just a kid. And I did that to him. And. . . he was a Dragoon, someone who'll end up in a war zone at some point. From the minute he was enlisted his innocence started slipping away from him and I took the last shred of it – I made him grow up too fast."

Though he was still a little dizzy, Norris crawled to where Elliot sat and gave him a hug. The strawberry blonde looked at him in surprise, but Glenn shook his head. "I'm not making a move on you – you know I'm straight – but you're upset and friends hug each other when one of them is sad."

Elliot gave Norris a weak smile and returned the gesture. "Thank you, Norris."

* * *

All told, the Timeless Rebellion movement was rather small – it consisted of around sixty people from all walks of life with skills ranging from Norris' marksmanship to Madame Chocolate's knack for inventions. Still, their numbers made it difficult to make very much progress in their resistance – only a few raids on ships and some espionage were possible under the given circumstance. The only good thing about their small size was that it made it easier for everyone to live in the old boarding house and the added bonus of making it harder for Porre to find them.

Elliot and Norris were amongst the few rebels who had their own rooms, though many chose to crowd themselves in one room by choice – the leader of the rebellion, Red, his wife, Blondie, and their children were one such example. Madame Chocolate shared her room with her parents – both aging – and a few young orphans the rebels had come across. Others who had escaped tragedies they never spoke of stuck together for emotional support while others still formed friendships with those they would have otherwise never met.

That was one reason why Norris and Elliot were such good friends (despite Elliot's pranks). They were each unique in the group, as Elliot was the only El Nido native and Norris the Porre solider. Everyone else was primarily from Guardia or Choras, though there was a small group from a small, frozen country to the far North. Though no one isolated Elliot for his heritage, as El Nido was held in high regard, he was mildly shunned by those who were more or less homophobic. As for the soldier, Norris occasionally felt the cold shoulder from some of the other rebels who still weren't sure to trust him. That frustrated Norris – no matter how many times he had ripped up any patch that bore his country's coat of arms or called his former superiors degrading names he would never say infront of the women or children, it wasn't rare that he found himself left out.

The morning after their discussion, Norris decided that Elliot should be left to his own devices for the day. He was noticeably depressed and didn't feel much like talking with anyone. Norris guessed that he might have dreamt of his ex-lover and reasoned that he needed some time to mope around about it.

So that left Norris to either find a group who would let them join in on their current mission or. . . do something else. "Something else" was easier said than done, and since we still wasn't Mr. Popular with his peers, it looked like "something else" was going to be his activity of choice.

As he tried to decide where he'd be most useful, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw he was face to face with Madame Chocolate. She smiled at him, reminding Norris that not everyone suspected him. "Norris, last night a few of our men were able to bring something back from the Porre army – we think you'd like to take a look at him."

"Him?" asked Norris.

"Yes – I'm good with inventions and such, but. . . I've never seen anything quite like this robot before," she said. "We were wondering if you knew anything about him." The two began to walk, and Madame Chocolate described the strange man further. "It's clearly a man. . . yet a machine. He has circuitry, yet he bled when someone scraped his arm against a sharp corner after he was turned off."

Norris' eyes widend in curiosity. "Does he have blue skin and blonde hair by any chance?" Madame Chocolate looked at Norris in surprise, but nodded. "Then that's probably Grobyc – he's what you would call a cyborg – half-man, half-machine. I'm surprised they weren't killed getting him back here, never mind turning him off."

"How come?"

"Though I don't know where his human components came from – that's something only a few Porre doctors and maybe a few of the generals know – but he was built and programmed for assassination. When I was in El Nido he nearly took out General Viper's daughter and _actually_ took out several Dragoons," said Norris. "Luckily he was programmed only to obey those stronger than himself – so when someone taught him a lesson, he began to follow them like an obedient dog. I was with the group that took him down, so he might listen to me if he wasn't reprogrammed."

"Can you see if any of this was done?" she asked.

"I could give it a try, but I've never tried to re-wire Grobyc before," said Norris.

* * *

Eventually, Madame Chocolate and Norris found themselves in the basement, where Red and Blondie stood alone with the familiar blue cyborg, stripped down to a pair of boxer shorts. Evidently he'd been searched for weapons and left the way he was so Norris could check his programming without trouble. The two leaders turned their heads at the entrance, the lady smiling sweetly as the two entered. "Does he know what this is?"

"Yes – it's a cyborg," said Madame Chocolate. "Norris doesn't know if he can check his programming, but he's going to give it a try." The two leaders nodded and Norris stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he tried to figure out where to begin. "Well? Any thoughts?"

"Do you know where the 'on' switch is, first of all?" Norris asked.

"Behind his left ear," said Blondie. "He was already off when our boys found him, but during inspection he was briefly turned back on – we shut him off before he had a chance to do anything." Norris nodded, circling around the cyborg as he tried to find anything he could use to access him internal program.

"It's entirely possible his hard-drive in located somewhere inside of his body – that would require surgery to access," said Norris. He knelt down near Grobyc's back, squinting as he traced a faded scar. "This right here could be an old scar from a procedure to put in a hard-drive – other than that I don't see anything, which leads me to believe that unless they've got a way to program him with visuals or remote controls, he might've not been tampered with."

"Uh huh."

"Please," said Norris, turning back to Red, "I'm serious. He has no panels anywhere but on his arm, and that I have worked it – but all that pertains to are his Tech Skills and nothing more. We're looking at an internal computer that I have no way of accessing without hurting him – we'd need a surgeon who dabbles in more robotics studies than Madame Chocolate."

"Which means. . ." said Madame Chocolate.

"I have no choice but to turn him on and hope for the best," said Norris, gritting his teeth. Moving back around to the front of the cyborg, Norris closed his eyes, gulped, and reached around behind Grobyc's ear. After a brief search, he found the switch and flipped it.

With a low buzz, Grobyc was fully functional. Norris stepped back to wait while the cyborg opened his eyes and looked around. After less than a minute, the cyborg's eyes stopped on Norris, gleaming with recognition. Norris breathed a slight sigh of relief – maybe Grobyc really did recognize him from their adventure with Serge. "Where-is-Grobyc?"

"You're in the basement of the headquarters of the Timeless Rebellion against the Porre army," Norris said calmly. "A small group of men from the group found you and brought you back here – they wanted me to inspect you to find out what you were. Grobyc, do you remember me?"

"Norris. Norris-is-Norris."

"That's right," he said.

"Norris-and-Grobyc-follow-Serge."

"Who's Serge?" asked Madame Chocolate.

"The-Assassin-of-Time. The-Chrono-Trigger."

Norris felt as if a lead weight had been dropped in his stomach. Grobyc seemed a little out-of-it, and certainly calling Serge by his titles would raise some questions with his new superiors. Though the term "Chrono Trigger" would probably make very little sense to them, "Assassin of Time", a title that implied killing (even if it was only a few hundred or so monsters, the Dragon Gods, and the Time Devourer), he could easily end up in trouble.

"No," Madame Chocolate said suddenly. "No, no, no!"

Norris was taken aback by her sudden outburst – this wasn't like her at all. "Madame Chocolate?" he asked, wide eyed. By instinct alone, he reached for his back pocket to retrieve a cigarette – he could feel a long, drawn-out conversation coming and he was going to need a fix. "What. . . you don't actually know what I'm talking about, do you?"

"So then the robot isn't spouting nonsense?"

All eyes turned to the staircase, where Norris was surprised to see Elliot sitting and watching. Red glared at the Dragoon. "Elliot! Were you spying on us? If we wanted your presence we would have asked for it! Now what brings you here?" Norris was a bit puzzled as to why Elliot was there, but reasoned that he probably had some sort of explanation.

Elliot stood and jumped the last several steps. "Norris and I had a little heart-to-heart last night about El Nido – my place of birth and his home away from home. Once we really got to talking we learned that he's friend's with my ex," he said. "I needed some time to myself, but. . . I just wanted to talk to Norris about it, and someone said he was down here. But what's this Assassin of Time, Chrono Trigger stuff?"

"The result of a horrible mess that started millions apon millions of years ago," said Blondie. She leaned her back against a wall and looked at Norris, then Elliot, and then at her husband. "Darling, perhaps we should sit these two down and explain what happened twenty years ago."

"Why Elliot?" asked Red.

"It would be unfair to kick him out now and leave him wondering about what Grobyc said," Madame Chocolate replied. "Furthermore, I'd prefer to keep is as far under wraps as possible – if he were to begin asking around, we would be in trouble. Do you understand, Red?"

Red smiled at Madame Chocolate. "Got me there." He gestured to a bench, silently ordering Norris and Elliot to have a seat. Both obeyed, though Norris chose to shut Grobyc off before he did so. "I'm sorry, Grobyc – it might be better if you're not up and running for a few days," he said quietly after the switch was flipped.

Once the young men were seated, Red began to speak. "As you both know, the Kingdom of Guardia was defeated by the Porre army fifteen years ago – I believe Norris would have been eleven and Elliot would have been, well, about seven or eight. The battle was brutal and ended poorly for Guardia – the Masamune was stolen, the monarchy fell, and hundreds lost their lives, leaving dozens of new orphans in a war-torn countryside." He clenched his fist in anger. "But Porre was not always destined for such ruthless power. Once, they were destined to be a quiet, peaceful fishing country to the south, only concerned with making ends meet and helping those neighbors who did not have enough."

"What do you mean?" asked Norris. "Porre has been industrialized for a long time now. It's got to be close to a few hundred years now – why do you so easily assume that Porre would have been such a peaceful nation?" He lit his cigarette and closed his eyes in thought. "I don't get it."

"Time travel, Norris," said Madame Chocolate. "Three stupid kids and some friends of theirs found a way to travel through time and change history." Elliot and Norris dropped their jaws at Madame Chocolate's comment, Norris loosing his cigarette in the process. "Even changing the slightly event in history can change the course of an entire nation. This was a lesson the three of us learned the hard way."

"What? Are you saying you traveled through time?" asked Elliot. "But that's impossible! Even Madame Chocolate couldn't come up with something that fantastic! I mean, imagine the things you could DO with time travel! We could have stopped Porre from ever taking over Guardia in the first place!"

"Although that's true, it's not something that should be used lightly," said Blondie. "When you travel through time, you can witness events that changed history, or even see a future that has yet to come to fruition. That, Norris, is why your friend has become the Assassin of Time."

"Before we were able to control how we traveled, the three of us visited the year 2300 A.D. and learned that in the year 1999 A.D. the world would be destroyed by a creature known only as Lavos," said Red. Norris' eyes lit up in recognition – that was the other name of the Time Devourer! "We decided to try and stop Lavos, but instead all of this mess happened. And now we can't go through time anymore to fix it. Worst of all, we created a paradox."

"You were inspired by an event that is never going to happen, and therefore you couldn't have seen it?" said Elliot, scratching his head. Norris felt bad for his friend – of the group, he knew the least of any of these adventures and was clearly getting lost. "So exactly how did that work? What do you mean by a paradox?"

"Two separate realities were created – one in which Lavos wins, and one in which Lavos lost," Norris finished. "That explains what happened on Opassa Beach all those months ago – well, at least part of it." He looked up. "But the worlds have merged – Serge – the Assassin of Time – was able to merge the worlds into one reality again."

Red blinked. "Impossible."

"Most people don't remember what happened, save those who joined with Serge and a few select others. To everyone else, it was as if nothing ever happened," said Norris. He sighed. "But for the rest of us. . . we have memories from both worlds, or just one world, and the world we all live in is so foreign to us."

"Two sets of memories?" asked Blondie.

Norris lit another cigarette. "Let me explain what happened to Serge back in El Nido. You see, it all started back when he was a little kid growing up in a small fishing village called Arni – it's to the south of Termina, the main port town, kinda near a large swamp inhabited by Hydras. At any rate, he was attacked and poisoned by a panther demon. His dad got scared, so he and a friend of his took Serge to try and find a cure. . ."

* * *

". . . and then I ended up here."

All parties present remained quiet for several minutes, letting Norris' story sink in. It was a rather bizarre story, and Norris knew it must have been making very little sense, even to his superiors (whom, it appeared, had gone on their own journey across worlds).

"Wild," Elliot said after several minutes. "Absolutely wild."

"Isn't it?" said Norris. "It's quite strange. I can clearly remember seeing myself from both of my former bodies and how each event played out from both perspectives. It's quite wild. I could never get some of my friends to understand the sensation, what with them being dead in one of the realities, but. . . some things that they know no longer exists in this new. . . world."

"Dead?" asked Blondie.

"Serge wasn't the only person who had a dead counterpart," said Norris. He turned to Elliot solemnly. "Glenn and most of the other Dragoons were only alive in one world, if you must know. Dario had it especially hard – the world in which most of the Dragoons died, he lived on, yet in the world that they all lived, he had been killed. Sometimes he seems so lost because of it."

"Dead," said Elliot.

"Who's Glenn?" asked Red.

"One of the Dragoons who joined Serge – in fact, he was the first of the Dragoons to do so," said Norris. "At least that's what Serge told me. But to answer Red's question a little better. . . well. . . Glenn was a former fling of Elliot's." He blew a puff of smoke up into his bangs. "Truth be told, I didn't even know he was gay until Elliot told me."

"Norris' gaydar sucks, but that's beside the point," said Elliot. He turned to Madame Chocolate with a raised eyebrow. "You, my dear, have been very quiet. Usually you're much more talkative than you are right now and I'm a little concerned – did something Norris say bother you?"  
"Not at all," she said softly. "I'm just happy to know Kid's okay."

And suddenly a thousand bells went off in Norris' head. "Wait a. . . by the Dragon Gods!" he said. He stared at Madame Chocolate in shock. "The inventions. . . the orphans. . . you're Dr. Lucca Ashtear! The famous inventor from the last days of Guardia! You're Kid's big sister!"

* * *

That said, any wild guesses as to who Red and Blondie are?

Calling all readers! Calling all readers!

Do you like message boards? Do you like my fanfics? Then go investigate my profile and check out Just Another World, an online Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross community! I have my own forum there where you can discuss ANY of my fanfics and suggest new skins and themes for the board! You can even make requests! We're desperate for members and any and all n00bs will be welcomed with open arms!

I realized that I never came up with a name for the rebellion movement in the last chapter, so since I outlined the basic group profile, I added it in for this chapter.

I'm trying to devise a list to figure out what's happened to who so far. Man, there's a lot of characters I haven't figured out (and I'm anticipating a large cast for this one).

Lastly, I've got the first two parts of a fanfic focusing on Glenn and Elliot's fling posted. I'm making note of it here because it's rated R – no it is not a lemon but it does a lot of insinuating and, well, blatantly pointing out that it occurred. The third part is forthcoming, and possibly the next "Summons" part as well.

Liolo:. Sorry about the long waits between chapters – real life is a pain in the ass and I can see it will only get worse as time goes on. However, this is one I DEFINITELY want to finish.

Yuka Squared: I never got what the big deal with Dark Serge was. Well, with Nikki, I think it's because of the way he dresses – he kind of looks like a slightly watered-down Marilyn Manson. Oh come on, Kid could SO be the ultimate yaoi fan girl. As I said in an earlier author's notes, Lena and I used to have some weird conversations about Kid being a pervert. Mmm, I'm not so sure about Leena being that close-minded. Well, I don't know. She'd probably go "eee!" and run away. And I am glad you like Elliot – I'm starting to like him, too.

Uftaki: That's how I respond to all of my reviews. Yes, Norris smokes. . . for now. And yes, it will be interesting as to how he quits. Let's say that Norris can be easily persuaded by certain parties. Yeah. . . smoking is Norris' current favorite form of stress relief. Hopefully he doesn't die from lung cancer because of it. Yeah. . . I'd say you're a bit biased towards Norris, but don't worry – if you'd like to can catch Norris using a variation of the Glenn trap and send him to you. Elliot? Pierre? HORROR! NO! BAD IMAGES! EIEEE! Not really. You're right – he should be more tolerable. And he just likes to annoy Norris, not hit on him. All right, that's it, at the end of these notes I'm hunting down Norris, tying him up, and sending him to you – and now I'm going to steal a line from an online friend by instructing you to unwrap him when he gets there. And yes, that is, indeed, Glenn's ex-boyfriend. Think Serge has a lot to live-up to? Oh man, we had WAY too much fun making up ways for Kid to mess with their love lives. Ah, so you're basing this off of his fortune. . . interesting. . . I love happy endings, too. I ramble incoherently when I'm tired, too.

Kittee: Thanks! I like it when people compliment my works – it means I'm doing a good job. Writers like that. Aw, don't be so hard on yourself – writing takes a lot of practice. Sometimes when I look at things I wrote a long time ago I can't believe I used to suck so badly. It's so bad it's hard to laugh at it. But there's a lot of it, and it means I practiced and practiced and practiced. I've been writing fiction as a hobby since I was in grade school. Not all of it was GOOD fiction but it was PRACTICE. Furthermore, read – reading helps out a lot. Whale? What whale? Stealing livers is bad – I don't wanna wake up in a bathtub full of ice with a note telling me to seek immediate medical attention. OMG! STRONGSAD! HOMESTARRUNNER! AH, I LOVE STRONGBAD AND THE CHEAT SO MUCH! XD!

Tami: Hi Tami! I wrote you a book today! I feel like I've addressed this before. . . unless I've just read this review so many times it feels like I have. Serge is cool, but the silence is actually a way video game developers get the player to feel more like they're in the game. Lots of video game protagonists say little or nothing at all to let the player make up their own mind. Your Glenn is scary sometimes, and a bit depressing. But I get the idea that was your intention. Oh good, you were surprised, yay I did my job again. Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out how I was going to handle Elliot? I just knew I wanted Glenn to have an ex, but then I couldn't figure out how I wanted to handle the ex. Quite frankly I like the direction he's evolved in, but that's true of most of my original male characters. Serge will probably still face the anxiety, but who knows? Maybe he and Elliot will become friends. (Elliot: Serge? Get out a notebook. I'm going to tell you everything you will ever want to know about Glenn in the bedroom that you will ever need to know. Serge: scribble-scribble I'm listening – let's start with tickle spots! Elliot: Excellent choice!). I don't know, though. But that will be an interesting point to ponder. Unbalanced? Really? Hmm. I didn't think he came off that scatterbrained but I guess he did. Oh well. Like, lead to what? I love Norris. Not as much as Uftaki, but that's why I'm going to send him to her as soon as I catch him sharpens tranquilizer darts I feel the same way about other authors, too. I used to read almost anything, but now I'm getting picky with my fanfics, yet there are some authors who could write about just about anything and they'd have me front-row center. And thanks for the compliments – writing is a big part of my life (and no, not just fanfics). Yeah, some people really don't know what they're doing, and in some cases it seems like they're doing it for "fame" and "glory". Look. I know I'm not some fanfiction equivalent to a household name, but I'm happy with the success I've managed to get with a few people who regularly read my fics and enjoy it. That makes me happy. Sure it would be nice to get twenty-plus reviews a chapter but sometimes just one well-thought out review from one of you guys is enough to make my day.

Greki: Thank you.

Chronomaniac: Okay.

Yuki: This was a review for Love Song, so if I haven't already I'll deal with this review response in the correct fic.

Dixxy


End file.
